#(WELL. you know. my character sleeps while he meditates)

[4giorno]

i got the cutscene <3

[artsninspo]

004 | Richmond Inc.

「 ✦ full library & archive ✦ 」

「 ✦ aaron pierre & characters library ✦ 」

⇚ 003

♠ authors note: the first part of this chapter was meant to be at the end of 003, I hope it doest interrupt your reading flow.

♠ summary: Mr. Richmond and Lorence have their meeting. This ones messy 🌪️.

♠ pairing: Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre - Rebel Ridge) X Lorence Cole (Black Fem OC)

♠ word-count: ~2.2K

⌖ - St. Moritz, Switzerland

I send Joel a text and meet him on the enclosed rooftop. The view is one of one.

“You really know how to get under the boss's skin kid” he sighs, swirling around whisky in his glass.

“What I do”

“I had orders to inform you of our discussion. Now Rich thinks I didn’t speak to you”

“Sorry, I was cornered in an elevator”

“Well, face him sooner than later. Rip off the bandaid” Joel sighs.

“How was today? How many calls?” I ask.

“Thirty inquiries,” he smiles. “Even if the boss only chooses fifteen new contracts, that's a nice check for our team. I’m telling you you’re a natural.” Joel says but he’s always had faith in me.

“Thanks, I’m sorry I got you in trouble”

“I know, you know I love you kid don’t worry about it” he sighs getting up.

“Get some sleep” he says standing with a hand outreached for me. We make our back to the rooms and he walks me to mine. I send my loved ones goodnight messages and drift away.

…

Unfortunately I rise early without being well rested. The clock reads its five thirty in the morning. My internal alarm is so well set that there’s no resistance even abroad. Discipline keeps me going through the motions instead of motivation because there's a huge lack of that. My nerves skyrocket and I decide to stick to my routine. I reconsider using the gym today and have the equipment I need brought to me in my room. I’ll buy all the time in the world not to bump into him before nine. For the first time in my adult life meditation doesn’t bring me clarity. It’s unsettling and I wonder how Mr. Richmond rattles me so deeply. From our first meeting there was some friction. I’d spent a few weeks hearing Joel sing his praises while my colleagues of the fairer sex ‘oohed’ and ‘awed’ about how handsome he was. When he walked onto our floor a hush cut across the cubicles. All I could see then was his complexion, a side profile of facial hair and curls. The minute he was in his office a frenzy started all around me. Everyone was preparing presentations and reports just-in-case. Then there was the constant flow of colleagues into the ladies room to spruce themselves up. The lipstick tubes were being twisted, powder patted one, lashes curled, blowouts scheduled during lunch the whole nine yards.

That first time in Mr. Richmonds office was the only occasion I wasn’t rattled with nerves but it didn't last long. It was the Boss, his barber, Joel and myself. He glared at Joel before looking at me with a dissatisfied expression and outreaching his hand. There wasn’t a welcome or any fanfare, just a hello. His grip was firm and his hands far larger than mine radiating heat without being clammy. I sat there waiting my turn to speak as Joel presented my findings. I watched as Richmond was transformed from scruffy operative to the clean cut CEO right before my eyes. Still I kept my composure and presented my findings. Mr. Richmonds disposition then turned antagonistic as he probed and probed and probed trying to find fault with my research concepts. When there were none to be found he didn't smile and end the angry boss charade like I'd hoped. He gave a curt nod and told me it was good work in a flat tone.

Since then, I’ve given him a wide breadth at every opportunity. I’ve passed up on several opportunities to be in his presence and rub shoulders with him. It’s been almost three years and I don't understand why things have to change now. I’ve enjoyed maintaining a professional distance and avoiding his tirades. Increased proximity will surely erode all of the defences I had set in place and that's not what I need. I quit my morning meditations prematurely and decide on a walk outdoors hoping the movement will help clear my head, hoping the cold will bring some clarity but it doesn't. I return inside and skip breakfast opting for a hot steamy shower. The bathroom gets as cloudy as my thoughts. I turn on the dehumidifying fan and wipe the mirror. The eyes staring back at me are swimming with uneasiness, a deer in the headlights. Not liking my reflection I get my outfit ready for the day. I do my body care routine before my make-up and then slip into my outfit before letting down my hair.

Business, bombshell, barbie; is what it’s giving today. It's a ruse, a fake it till you make it, moment. Maybe if I present like the admins he won't see me as a contender for the director position. Fastening my watch on my wrist I see I have thirty minutes to spare. I make my way to his office for the interim. I walk over to the elevator and get in, hitting the button up one floor. One of my colleagues walks in with red eyes as I exit.

“Good luck” he swallows letting me know Richmond is on a warpath. I send him a sympathetic look making my way to where his secretary is stationed.

“Gordon” I greet and she smiles.

“I’ve told you a million times, call me Cassandra,” she smiles.

“Cassandra,” I amend.

“Lorence,” she smiles. “I hear I’ll be seeing a lot more of you - I’m excited there’s wayyy too much testosterone and serious characters among the executives” she whispers in a dark denim tailored canadian tuxedo.

“Where’d you hear that?” I ask and she rolls her eyes.

“I know everything” she winks, a stiletto nail on full display as she taps her temple with her pointer finger. It’s a cloak and dagger maneuver - Cassandra’s sharper than she looks and too many employees have fallen into her trap. She's Richmond Inc. Chris Hansen. Obviously there's an immense amount of trust between her and the boss.

“What’s it like working closely with Richmond?” I ask and she rolls her eyes.

“He’s a total asshole sometimes. But the man knows how to apologize well when the asshole can't be confined in that gargantuan frame” she says, openly mocking the boss. I snicker a little. “But usually he’s normal, fair, attentive, considerate,” she says. Cassandra’s the only person I’ve ever spoken to that has such a glowing review. I can't help but scoff.

“What’s that for? Has he yelled at you?” she asks, seeming genuinely upset at the prospect.

“No, I maintain my distance.” I tell her.

“Oh I know” she nods.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask.

“Terry’s noticed” she says using his first name which is a rarity in this place. I swallow hard, not excited by the revelation.

“Yay!” I remark unenthused.

Cassandra snickers. “Don’t be like that, he's good at everything he sets his mind to. I’m sure it’ll take him no time to learn the best way to work with you-” before she can say more his door opens and we look like a bunch of guilts gossips huddled close to each other with nothing more to say in his presence.

“Gordon, how do I look-” Richmonds baritone crescendos as he looks up from his watch. Cassandra and I straighten, and in an instant all the casual and playful energy is sucked out of the open space. Richmond straightens next before checking his watch.

A silent beat passes between the three of us.

“She’s early,” Cassandra quips. He swallows, sending her a glare but she doesn't cower plopping down into her seat seemingly defeated as she gets back to work.

“Cole” he steps back holding a hand out to his office. 

“Sir” I responded before leading the way. His cologne is an intoxicating mix of clean and masculine, while being a little dark. The room is large with an open concept, there are several seating arrangement options. To my surprise he motions to a sofa instead of the chair at his desk. I take my seat and he takes his, facing me, a coffee table between us. I cross my legs to the side, a habit from wearing skirts. I don’t dare look down into his sprawled legs and oversized thighs sitting in a dominant power pose. His words cross my mind again and I look him over. He looks fine, as usual. I wonder what that was about and look towards the door again. He clears his throat and I feel regret for how it probably looks as I look towards the door.

“Good morning” I greet him, trying to add some levity to the atmosphere.

“Morning” he responds, straightening slightly in his seat. “Well?” He asks.

“Well, what Sir?” I ask respectfully.

“You’ve spoken with Jameson about what’s on the table regarding your employment here. I’m here to answer any questions you may have. I’m open to discussion” he says with body language that reads anything but ‘open to discussion’.

“I was under the impression I had some time to decide,” I respond.

“Decide?” He asks like it’s absurd, like his offer is so good I shouldn’t refuse.

“My day has just started and I haven’t had time to read anything over” I add and he takes out his tablet confirming my words as truth. It only confirms he's a control freak, to be tracking email opens.

“Well then let’s do it now” he says tapping the screen and I hear the printer begin printing.

“Shouldn’t this be done in the presence of HR?” I ask and his eyes light.

“HR?” he repeats in question.

“In case I have HR specific questions…” I explain and he tosses his tablet onto the coffee table making a crash. I sit back and his nostrils flare. 

“Such as…” he responds. At a loss for words I shrug feeling like a mediator should be present already. “What’s your problem with me?” He asks.

“Your temper” I blurt out before my brain can stop me. My cantor takes him by surprise too. “I’m also insulted that instead of self-regulating you increase my therapy stipend” I add, since I’m already halfway to hell I might as well continue right?

“Self-regulating” he mutters and I’ve lit a fuse. He looks at me about going nuclear. “Get out!” he demands, his voice reverberating through the glass office. I swallow while maintaining my composure. 

“No! I’m not a dog, I won't be spoken to that way!” I stand my ground. It’s a surprise to me too. The expression in Richmonds eyes and the hard set of his jaw confirms he’s surprised and incensed.

“You’ve asked me to self-regulate but unless you get out of my face I'm going to continue to speak to you however I choose.” he says with closed eyes. 

“Finally those big ears listen” I quip going low. His eyes shoot open in shock as I get up and head to the door.

“Rescind last night’s email to Mrs. Cole” he shouts standing once I’m out of the office. “Now!” He snaps at Cassandra from behind me. I turn to face him. “You’ve overestimated your importance and outplayed your hand” he snaps and somehow his restraint feels more seething than his tirades.

“Richmond” Cassandra interjects.

“Do IT!” he shouts, blowing my eardrums. Both Cassandra and I wince.

“Do it your damn self!” I snap snatching the cords from Cassandra's docking station.

“You’re suspended.” Richmond swallows, fighting for control.

“I’ll do you one better; I QUIT” I snap giving him a taste of his own medicine slamming my phone and laptop down on the marble desk top. I hope they’re broken. I take my work pass from my hip and add it to the pile with careless abandon. 

“Lorence” Cassandra says with a soft tone.

“I’ll be out in the next hour, don't send me an off-boarding survey. I quit because the Boss is an asshole!” I add having reached my boiling point after three years of being subject to his tyranny.

“I’ll call housekeeping to help you pack and find alternative accommodations” Cassandra relents picking up her phone. 

“Thank you” I nod, swallowing hard. I cast a hateful look over my shoulder at Richmond before heading into the elevator. I swear I see the asshole smirking as the elevator doors shut. I manage to keep it together through packing up my stuff and the entire ride to the airport's hotel but once I'm in my new accommodations I bawl.

Hours later I sit in first class on my flight home and see the email is still there in my personal inbox. I left all my work items in the hotel with Cassandra in spite of her protest. Nagging guilt, curiosity and the prospect of regret makes me open the file. I put in my password fully expecting the file to go blank but it doesn’t. I swallow seeing one million dollars listed under salary along with a list of perks that would make anyone envious. Everything would be the best of the very best and a road to early retirement no doubt. I sigh, closing the document and calling for some champagne. When my flight lands I head to my parents home instead of my own to lick my wounds and recover.

game reveal: those of you who chose 2 and 5 were very much accurate. thankfully, there was no 1. No 4 either, unless you've found a spot for it. If you don't know what I'm taking about check out my page between chapters to play the games I post with us: Richmond Inc. Game & Poll

authors note: thanks to all who played and everyone who's been reading and liking, voting & commenting. What did you think about this chapter? Did you expect it to go the way it did? Are we proud of Lorence?

005 ⇛

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[deedeeznoofs]

You’re? Correction! I’m Yours 

➺ Characters: Ryomen Sukuna, GN!Reader 

➺ Word Count: 900+ 

➺ Genre: Fluff

➺ Content: Non-Curse!AU, Nerd!Sukuna, Established Relationship (with some pre-relationship sprinkled in), Swearing

➺ A/N: Shout out to my wonderful mutual @heian-era-housewife for this post about Heian Era Sukuna doing poetry. If she’s reading this: I hope you don’t mind the tag but your post seriously inspired a huge chunk of these headcanons ��

➺ Synopsis: Headcanons of all the nerdy things Sukuna does because deep down inside that’s all he is and all he wishes to be ❤️

➺ At first glance he doesn’t read as someone who would be super nerdy or all that interested in learning. 

➺ I mean, can you blame anyone? No one really expects the dude constantly looking for a fight to pull up with some textbooks during his free time.

➺ Once you get to know him though, you realize that on the inside he is in fact a giant nerd about basically everything.

➺ It starts off subtly: at first you’d ask him questions and he’d be able to easily come up with answers without even giving it a second thought.

➺It could be a question about anything, regardless of the subject or perceived difficulty, and Sukuna would be able to explain it to you. Not only that, but he’d be able to explain it to you in a way that made it sound like the simplest thing in the world. 

➺ At one point you basically just started playing trivia and just started asking him stuff normal people didn’t know the answers for and he’d answer with ease, albeit he’d get really annoyed with your constant random questions.

➺ Sometimes if he’s really excited about a subject his explanations would turn into full lectures that’d put most college professors to shame.

➺ Although it was shocking at first, it started to make sense when you realized that the main reason why he takes time to learn about stuff is because he’s constantly bored and looking for new things to entertain him.

➺ He’s good at basically everything so long as it piques his curiosity, but his one and only love will forever be literature, mostly because of how infinite the possibilities are with the medium.

➺ He’s well versed in literature of all genres and different cultures, but he is the most drawn toward Japanese works (and let’s be honest, his favorites would probably come from the Heian Period).

➺ Ever since getting with you, he’s been leaning more toward the romance genre. Just in case he needs any inspiration on how to spice up your relationship, you know? 

➺ He’s taught himself multiple languages just for fun and to see how far he could go.

➺ He LOVES poetry, he both writes and reads it a lot and it’s his favorite hobby besides eating.

➺ Other than literature, he also has a huge fascination with art.

➺ He designed his own tattoos because he wanted to play with the idea of turning his body into a canvas. It also just so happened to make him look intimidating as hell which was a plus in his book.

➺ He also has a little journal that he carries around and he sketches a lot whenever he’s bored or sees something interesting.

➺ As for styles, he’s a really big fan of Sumi-e painting because he’s allergic to color but he basically just uses and does whatever he feels like at the moment. 

➺ He’s the type of person who draws what he sees, but he would especially enjoy drawing nature. 

➺ He would go out on hikes whenever he felt the need to draw and would walk until he found something interesting. 

➺ He’s really into meditation while he draws and he uses sketching as a way to keep himself level headed during particularly annoying days.

➺ He isn’t too fond of drawing people, but you’d be the exception. 

➺ He would 1000% draw you while you sleep. It’s the perfect time since you’d be still for most of it. 

➺ Sukuna is able to write really good cursive and also does calligraphy because he got bored one time (shocker) and so decided to see if he was able to do it well and to no one’s surprise, he was eventually able to.

➺ The reason why he leans towards the humanities so much is because they’re both subjects no one can really “master”. With both art and literature, there isn’t a point where someone knows absolutely everything about either subject. Since Sukuna loves a challenge, he wants to be the first person to go “Fuck you, I DO know everything about this”.

➺ One of the little things he does every day includes writing you short little romantic poems on a post it note and leaving them in out random spots for you to find. 

➺ Sometimes they would be in your pocket or other times on the bathroom mirror, wherever it is they would make you smile. 

➺ Though, sometimes he would stick them onto such odd spots that you’d wonder just how he did it?

➺ He has TONS of pride in his writing (to be fair, he’s prideful about basically anything he does) and he always appreciates it when you mention his little notes and complement the work he put into writing them.

➺ Sometimes when the both of you are talking together he’d say some of the most poetic sentences that you’ve ever heard like it’s nothing. 

➺ When you gasp he just goes “What? Why are you staring at me like that?” as if he didn’t randomly drop lines that sounded like they came from straight out of a novel.

➺ He’s a dick when it comes to spelling and grammar, especially during petty arguments.

➺ “How many times do I have to tell you, if your going to the restroom put the damn seat down afterwards” ➺ “It’s YOU’RE*, actually” ➺ “Fine, YOU'RE** a piece of shit Ryomen!”

➺ Don’t fret though, because while Ryomen Sukuna wants to know anything and everything there is to know about the world, he knows deep down inside that the best thing the world could have ever offered him was you.

-

➺ Edit: Okay I made this story quite a while ago but I HAVE ANOTHER HEADCANON TO ADD! I think his observation skills are super on point which is how he’s able to understand things so easily

A/N: Everyone list what you think Sukuna’s favorite book(s) would be 🗣️

A/N: If you enjoyed my thoughts on Sukuna, you’d love this story I also wrote paired with some headcanons! 

[ashe-smash]

Baby Talk | Chapter 1: Conception Ao3

Piccolo x Reader

Tags/ CW: Infertility, Themes of Infertility Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Alien/Human Relationships, Namekian Biology, Piccolo has a Diccolo (Later Chapters) Oviposition, Breeding Kink, Pregnancy, Alien Pregnancy.

Word Count: ~2.4K

Summary: You’ve known Piccolo and you reproduce differently since the beginning of your relationship- before you were ever really dating. You thought it was fine until it’s not. Piccolo and Reader have to navigate their reproductive incompatibility. (Aka Writer takes some significant liberties with Namekian biology)

Big thanks to @ginrastandsby for beta-ing and the DB reader discord for support with my fics ! 🫶

FYI, this it technically in canon with another wip. I consider them the same Reader Character- for context 1) Reader is a childhood friend of Videl, shes Pan’s godmother. 2) Piccolo and Reader can have sex. He had an “appendage” that’s sheathes thats similar to a penis. It produces lubrication, but no genetic material/ sperm.

Piccolo stares at your sleeping form. He knows you don’t like it, but he’s feeling things he’s not quite sure how to process. It’s not like he needs sleep like you, so maybe if the Namekian stares long enough the puzzle will piece itself together. 

Eventually you rouse from it, mumbling a reminder and beckoning him to join you under the warmth of your comforter. Ready to drift back asleep. He usually lies with you, meditating until you wake but he doesn’t feel like joining you right this moment. 

“You want a baby.” Piccolo says flatly. It’s not a question, because he knows it’s true. He hadn’t been trying to eavesdrop on you or anything, he simply has very good hearing. Chatting with an old friend who’d just had a baby during a chance encounter earlier that day. Something about you wanting one of your own if the cards were ever right for you. 

You’re much more awake now. “This isn’t a middle of the night conversation Piccolo.” 

Piccolo knows that, he thinks. Navigating a relationship is new for the Namekian, while he’s been friends or allies with earthlings for two decades- most of his life- this is his first romantic and physical one. 

But he knows he loves you. It feels a little foreign, unlike his love for Gohan or Videl and Pan and maybe that’s why this bothers him. He can’t even place the feelings he is having now: he’s not angry, he knows anger, he’s not scared- this seems a little silly to be scared over? Worried. He thinks he’s worried. 

Piccolo touches his throat, it’s almost absentminded. “I can't … do that.” 

“I know.” You sigh. Not disappointedly, he thinks. You’re just tired. “Lo I don’t know why we’re having this conversation.” He’s not quite sure why either. It’s just bugging him and he’s not used to that.  

You huff, a little grumpy at being woken up. He acquiesces and crawls into the blankets with you, attempting to appease his slight of having woken you up. You curl up at his side, body warm with sleep. Piccolo always runs on the cooler side, not warm blooded like humans. You change that tucked into his side. “Can we talk about this in the morning?” 

When you do fall asleep, it’s restless. Even in the deepest parts of meditation he can tell you aren’t sleeping well. You can’t seem to get comfortable, nor does it seem you ever fully fall asleep.Eventually when the morning is still silver blue, you give up and wake yourself up. “You know, there are human men that couldn’t give me a baby right?” 

“I don’t … want you to do… that.” 

“I don’t want that either. I mean, even if we can’t have a baby together it doesn’t change the way I feel about you. Even if I want a baby, I still love you.” 

He turns his head and kisses the palm you tucked against the side of his face. You love him regardless, even if he can’t give you it. 

You eventually roll onto your stomach to look at him.“Is it even something you want.” 

For him, it feels very complicated. Very few Namekians ever reproduce. He thinks it sounds horrific. Not to mention his own relationship with his own father- or lack there of adds another layer of complexity. 

You having your own child through whatever alternative ways would just mean there would be another human in his life that he would eventually outlive. However, he doesn’t want to take that away from you. 

The two of you are reproductively incompatible. Technically, you’re both the egg bearers. Sex is only possible because Namekians still have vestigial appendages that are similar to penises. 

“I don’t know.” 

If he slept maybe he’d dream of it. Silence hangs in the air between you two. If his hearing wasn’t so good, he might think you were sleeping again. 

“Are you sad?” 

You take a deep breath before answering, which almost is an answer in itself. “A little bit, yeah. I knew you couldn’t- we couldn’t … do that since we first slept together. But I guess it feels different when we actually talk about it.” 

You curl yourself back up to his side. “Do you want to go back to sleep?” 

You nod. “You can go meditate outside if you want.” 

He usually does around this time in the morning while you sleep in. Piccolo shakes his head. He thinks he’d rather stay here with you. 

He has a feeling this topic is only shelved for later.  It’s not like you’re going to stop wanting it, even if you also love him. He wishes it was simpler, at least for your sake. 

At least you sleep a little more peacefully after that. 

… 

It’s a few days later when Pan is over that it comes back up again. The two of them are training and you’re sitting under the big tree outside your home. Usually you’d sit in your office to work, but it seems there’s been a bit of unspoken clinginess between the two of you. Luckily you already work from home and can work from almost anywhere as long as you have your laptop. 

“Pico, why is Auntie crying?” 

Piccolo turns his head to see you slip back into your shared home. He doesn’t see your face though. 

Piccolo ruffles a hand through Pan’s hair. “Go take a lap, I’ll make sure Auntie is okay.” 

You’re in the kitchen and you duck your head so he can’t see your face. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine. I just-“ Your voice cracks, betraying your words. “Just need a minute.” 

“Why are you crying?” He steps up behind you, but he’s not sure if he should touch. 

You shrug. “It’s fine. Go- Go train with Pan.” 

“She’s worried about you.” Maybe it’s a little cruel to play that card but if it will get you to tell him what’s wrong. When a fresh wave of tears starts, Piccolo can’t stand it anymore and tucks you against his chest. Wraps an arm around your crossed arms. 

“It’s awful and I feel guilty for feeling it.” You sob. 

This is the worst part- when he doesn’t know what to do. Usually you’re there to help guide him through it, but that’s wildly inappropriate at this moment. 

“Deep breath, please.” It’s shaky but you manage it. He lets you take another one too. “I’ve heard some pretty awful stuff, I doubt you could say anything as bad.” He strokes your cheek with the back of his fingers. 

“It feels mean to say to you, Lo.” 

“Do you intend to hurt me with it?” You shake your head. “Then please tell me so I can understand?” 

“Pan’s an only child…” He’s aware of that fact. You take another deep breath. “T-that’s fine, I just… I always figured it’d be okay cause she’d have a cousin or two eventually.” 

Goten’s still pretty young- by the time he might have kids, Pan will probably be a teenager… Oh. “Because you thought you’d have kids?” 

He’d never thought about it. He’s technically an only child, Gohan and Goten are far apart in age- at least Goten has Trunks to play around with. Bulla and Pan are close enough in age but that hardly means anything. 

You want to give her a playmate. 

It makes sense. The two of you love Pan more than anything, probably more than each other. 

“I'm sorry.” You say wetly. “I’m not trying to guilt you or anything…  I’m just sad about it.” 

“What can I do for you?” 

“I really just needed a minute, Big Guy.” You squeeze at an arm that’s wrapped around you. “I think I might go lie down for a little bit?” 

He holds you for another minute then lets you go upstairs. He waits until he hears you get into the bed before he leaves

When Piccolo comes back outside, Pan is sitting in the grass poking at a bug. She’s more like her dad than one would first believe by looking at her. “Why was Auntie crying, Piccolo?” 

“She’s sad, bud.” 

“Are you getting a divorce?” 

“What? No, where did you even hear that?” Technically, the two of you aren’t even married. Can he even legally get married? 

“One of my friends at school’s mom and dad are getting a divorce. Her mom is very sad when I see her.” 

Oh, that makes sense. 

“We had a grownup conversation recently and it made Auntie sad.” It’s hard because Piccolo can’t exactly talk to her about the truth. 

“When Daddy makes Mom upset, he buys her chocolates and flowers! You should do that Picco!”

“Yeah? Auntie’s laying down right now, think we should go get her something to cheer her up?” 

Pan nods enthusiastically. She hops up to take off to fly towards the nearest store. Piccolo glances back at your home before he takes off to join her. Hopefully you’ll be alright for a little bit by yourself. 

…

It seems fine at first. Piccolo has an armful of treats (all picked out by Pan). She’s not worried anymore, eager to help Piccolo “fix” your sour mood. 

Until they walk straight in front of the baby section. Rows and rows of pastel baby clothes. Bottles and pacifiers line the adjacent walls of the section. 

Something curdles in Piccolo’s stomach. He’s assumed he’s been feeling this way because you’re feeling sad and upset about this. Maybe he does want a baby? As bad as you do. Especially with the realization that yours and his baby would grow up with Pan. 

Pan tugs on his gi. “What’s wrong, Piccolo?” 

He blinks. “Just thinking that Auntie’s up by now.” He shrugs the arm holding all of the snacks Pan picked out. “Do you think this is enough?” 

It’s a bit early for him to be dropping off Pan but he feels it’s necessary.  Videl seems a little concerned but mostly just surprised. He assures her that something just came up. He’ll make it up to Pan another day. Maybe you and him can take her out for a fun outing when you’re in better spirits. 

He takes the plastic baggie of snacks and heads home. 

You’re still lying down when he returns. Laying on your stomach, face practically smothered in the pillow- he really hates when you sleep like this. Based on your breathing, you’re not quite sleeping but not quite awake. 

He crawls on top of you being careful to not put all his weight on you, but enough. You once told him about weighted blankets- that it’s comforting to have the extra pressure sometimes.

“I wish I could give you a baby.” 

“We could.” You mumble. Your voice is scratchy from sleep and crying, probably. 

The Dragon Balls? So you two could have a baby together? It feels ironic that Piccolo hadn’t thought of that. It’d be relatively easy- Bulma keeps them constantly collected and protected to be used if needed. 

He lets you turn over but he doesn’t get off of you, his head resting on your belly. “Do you really want to do that?” 

You shrug. “What if they were needed for something… more important?” ‘Something more important’ goes unsaid. Piccolo nods. That would be an awful thing for your baby to have over their head their whole lives. 

“If you really wanted… what’s it called when another man fathers a child for someone who can’t?” 

“Donor?” 

“If you really wanted it… you could do that.” Piccolo really doesn’t like that. He’d love your child because they’re part of you but he’d still struggle. 

“I… I want your baby, Lo.” You pout. “It’s selfish but I want you to get me pregnant and I want to have your baby. I know it’s unrealistic to want that but I do.” 

“But we can’t do that and we can’t… make it happen other ways… So?” 

You turn your face away. “I guess we just …don’t.” 

He rubs your hip, he hates that you’re sad and he can’t really do anything about it. “You’re still sad about it though, right?” 

“I might always be sad about it, Piccolo.” You sigh. “But we have Pan.” 

He nods. “We have Pan.” 

“And I love you. You know that right?” 

Of course he does. It’d be awkward because the two of you are so interconnected in your lives but if you didn’t want to be with him anymore- he’d understand if you left him. Being with a man who looks like an alien has been quite the adjustment. 

“Please don’t cry again.”  He points to the bag of acquired goodies. It’s set on the edge of the bed, but he doesn’t move away from you to actually retrieve it. “Pan picked you out snacks.” 

“Yeah? That’s where you went?” You giggle, a little forced but it lifts the mood. “Can I eat them in bed?” 

Piccolo grimaces. He takes the sanctity of your bed very seriously, you sleep there after all. “... If you really want to.” That makes you laugh a little more genuinely. 

Ultimately you decide to go eat your snacks downstairs during a movie. Snacks for dinner, though Piccolo will insist you eat something more substantial. You think maybe you’ll entice him into a warm bath later. 

Your phone buzzes: 

>> (Del) Pan said you were upset earlier? Everything alright?? 

You expected this. Pan’s still little and likely can’t keep a “secret” especially from her mother. 

Truth be told, Videl and Gohan have been far too involved in your relationship with Piccolo. Sure, they are your respective best friends- Videl is the reason you’re together. 

The first time you two had a serious argument, the married couple seriously meddled into getting you to talk to Piccolo again- even though you both really just needed some time to cool off. You know they were just trying to help but you don’t need that now. 

You sneakily snap a pic of your partner. He’s sitting with your feet in his lap, holding a plate of your treats so they don’t spill while you’re texting. 

>> (You) Just having a hard day. Nothing >> Sorry Piccolo brought Pan home early. 

Maybe someday they’ll be told. Perhaps you’ll sob to Videl after one too many glasses of wine on your rare Girls Nights or Piccolo will confide in Gohan about it. 

But for now it can just be between you and him. You’ll have to get used to that now, after all.

[koolades-world]

this was originally a request and i accidently got rid of it i think? i'm not really sure what i did but it's gone im literally so upset

so basically i posted sunday's post by accident, and only realized after i clicked on the next request so in a panic, i clicked off without thinking about it to do I wasn't sure at the time. i eventually resolved to just let that be and move sunday's original post to monday, but when i came back looking for the thing i had tried to start it was gone :(((

I'm so sorry to this anon they said some very sweet things about how visiting my blog was comforting and that they liked how i penned the characters and i just wanted to say thank you for that and hope you're reading <333

please enjoy!

Mc with burnout symptoms

Lucifer

when he notices you exhibiting the symptoms he knew from experience, he's quick to check up on you

he immediately talks to you about it and works with you to walk you through what he does in hopes of helping

his method of coping is meditation and yoga

if you're up for trying it, you can make this a thing you do together

Mammon

lately, he's been running into you more and more awake at three in the morning on RAD nights

he's awake just because he has a bad sleep schedule, but you're not like this at the frequency he's been seeing you at

one night, he prepares a cup noodles for both of you so you can chat over something you both love

he deeply cares about you since he feels as you're the first person to express how much you love him, so anything he can do, he will do

Levi

it's scary to him to being to see you echo the negativity he knows so well

he notices you begin to lose passion for the things that you loved before

he felt lost at first, but he knew that you needed his support so he stepped up for you

he lets you know he's willing to chat about it and will help you out however he can

Satan

while he doesn't catch on right away, he does notice your change in behavior

he does frantic research until he thinks he's figured out why you're acting different

he tries his best to subtly make changes in your life, such as making an effort to get to bed early with you and taking the scenic route home to enjoy the nature

when you inevitably notice, he lets you in on what he did, and how even after you overcome the burnout, you can keep up these habits if it makes you happy

Asmo

he noticed your newfound irritability before you did

when he came to talk to you about it, it was then you realized you had burnout

while he knows pampering you can't solve every problem, he loves to make you feel special and to help you relax

the two of you can go talk to solomon about it as soon as possible to ask for his help

Beel

when he notices the burnout symptoms, he didn't know what is was at the time

but he did know that sometimes he saw the same things in lucifer

so, he did what he does with lucifer: do some fun exercise together!

not only do the two of you get more time together, he just wants to help you and is doing it how he knows best

Belphie

watching you slowly being to just lay around like him was almost scary

the onset of creeping negativity wasn't like you

he resolved to help you find a way to work through it together

anything that you tried, he would do too to give you a little extra motivation, even if it's something he would never normally do

[yourbloodysunrise]

Hi! Could I request a 2k12 Master Splinter and Leonardo scenario where they and the reader are in the dojo meditating, and the reader casually drops some shocking familial lore (uhhh maybe they said something about being biologically related to Shredder) and then get up and walk away 🙏

🌤️ — well, why not, hehe. enjoy :3

°.✩┈┈∘*┈୨୧┈*∘┈┈✩.°

❝ Family revelations. ❞

— FANDOM: TMNT 2012

— CHARACTERS: SPLINTER, LEONARDO.

— PLATONIC

— ONESHOT

— TW: BAD ENGLISH, BAD GRAMMAR, OOC, I DOUBT THAT READER IS SHREDDER BIOLOGICAL CHILD, I MEAN HE'S UNLIKELY TO GET INVOLVED WITH ANYONE THINKING THAT ONLY TANG SHEN IS WORTHY OF HIM, THIS IS SHORT.

°.✩┈┈∘*┈୨୧┈*∘┈┈✩.°

Humming to yourself, you walk through the turnstile, entering the turtle lair.

It sound kind of..Too quiet, or something. Usually, someone is always making noise here.

You look around for the denizens and see Mickey sleeping on the couch, the door to Donnie's lab is closed and you can see light from the crack of the iron door. Raph must be in his room too, but where is Leo?

Walking a little further forward, moving silently so as not to wake Michelangelo, your attention is attracted by the quiet sounds of mumbling in the dojo.

When you get closer to the dojo doors, you look in and see Splinter and Leo meditating. You cough into your fist to get their attention, forcing both of them to open their eyes.

"Am I interrupting?"

"No, no, of course, your presence is welcome here," — Splinter assures you, shaking his head without changing his position, while Leonardo turns his body towards you, smiling at you in greeting.

"Hey there. Do you want to join the meditation?"

"..I don't understand why you are doing this, but okay." — you answer briefly, shrugging your shoulders, going inside and sitting down next to them, copying their pose.

"Meditation is needed to achieve deep concentration, and inner peace.." — Splinter responds to you in a calm tone, closing his eyes again and slightly lowering his head, seemingly entering a meditative state again.

Leonardo, on the other hand, just turned his head towards you, seemingly wanting to continue the conversation.

"Have you never meditated?" — he asks you softly in a half-whisper, leaning closer to you to make sure that you can hear him without interrupting Splinter.

"No," — you briefly answer, looking away, reflecting on his question, "My father forced me to train all the time, so I just didn't have time for things like this."

You close your eyes, and not knowing what to think about, you decide to remember something pleasant.

Immersed in warm memories and relaxing fantasies, you feel like this..Peaceful. It's a nice feeling.

Leo just remains silent before humming thoughtfully and turning his head away, trying to return to meditation, but now he is prevented from entering a state of rest by your words, which keep flashing through his mind.If you think about it, he really knows so little about you.

You don't like to talk about yourself, and you constantly change the subject, and so cleverly that at first he doesn't even understand it..

He opens his eyes several times, glancing at you, smiling involuntarily, feeling how curiosity does not allow him to concentrate. Damn, and how does Splinter manage to completely detach himself from everything around him?

"Hey.." — Leonardo calls you in a whisper, leaning slightly towards you before returning to his original state.

However, to his annoyance, you did not hear him, and he repeats his action again, however, unsuccessfully.

Leo sighs in exasperation and, reaching out, pushes you in the shoulder, which makes you flinch and look at him indignantly.

"What?.." — you whisper to him, even though your voice is more like a hiss, even if you didn't mean to.

"Did your father make you train often?"

You just looked at him, humming as you thought about it, before nodding, — "Well, yes. I spent almost the whole day training, haha. My free time was about few hours or something, and most of it I spent this time on self-study."

"..No offense, but he is bad at his training schedule." — Leonardo chuckles without humor, looking at you. Splinter, of course, forces turtles to train a lot too, but he gives them rest when they need it.

"I know, right? Shredder is terrible at parenting."

"Shre.."

Splinter just opened his eyes, looking up from his zen state to make a remark to the two of you that you were distracting him, but Leo interrupted him.

"WHO?"

"..Ah, you know, meditation is not a bad thing, although it's a bit boring. I should practice it more often." —you say, although this is more of a thought out loud than an answer to Leonardo himself, and getting up.

"I'm going to find something more active to do. Bye, bye.."

With these words, you turn around and leave the dojo with a face like you've said some obvious fact.

That was the obvious thing, actually, but the fact that you said it...

Leonardo was left with his mouth open, staring at you blankly, not knowing what to do, and Splinter, who wasn't even listening to you, just looked after you with a slight misunderstanding.

Leo shook his head, and, getting up, bumping his foot on the floor in an attempt to move faster, ran after you, shouting, not worrying that others would hear him.

"Hey..Hey, wait up! You can't just leave! Is this one of your jokes? It's better to be a joke-"

Splinter sighed, shaking his head, reaching out to stroke his thin beard, which looked more like an overgrown animal's fur.

It seems that meditation will have to be postponed.

..:*･ﾟ☆.｡.:*･ﾟﾞ｡.:*･ﾟ☆.｡.:*･ﾟ🌤

🌤️ — I- have nothing to say this time ":D

🌤️ — well, at least there are Splinter. it always upset me that people in TMNT fandom aren't particularly interested in characters other than turtles. eh, whatever, hope you like it, have a good day 💫

[vacate-et-scire]

hii, thank you for doing the matchup event <33

overall, im extroverted, leo sun and moon! usually, my friends describe me as an easy-going person, although some people read me off as rude bc im not very smiley (its the autistic rest face ig). i enjoy cosplaying, learning new languages, reading (classics and fanfic, talk abt balance haha), sometimes playing online (i get bored pretty quickly tho), and studying.

in my free time, i like to meditate, practice pilates, sleep (peak adult life hobby fr), and go out with my friends! i used to play genshin a lot when i was in high school, it was my main hobby for like 2 years lol.

in a partner, i usually look for maturity and open-mindedness. my humour is a bit dry, so id prefer someone who matches this up too. i like calm people, bonus point if hes shy with others but talkative in private! physically, anyone over 5'4 (my height) :)

Your Blue Lock Matchup: Kunigami Rensuke(Pre Wildcard ofc)

Kunigami’s mature, grounded nature and his strong sense of self would align perfectly with your preference for maturity in a partner. As someone who values open-mindedness, you’ll appreciate his willingness to stay true to his own ideals while being considerate of others. His level-headed approach to life contrasts with his passionate determination on the field, which could provide the perfect balance for you—especially given your calm, easy-going nature.

Your dry humour and Kunigami’s straightforward personality would blend well together. While He isn’t known for being overly expressive or laugh-out-loud funny, his dry sense of humour and sometimes sarcastic remarks would sync well with yours. Both of you would be able to exchange witty comments or sarcastic quips without overwhelming each other with too much energy. Kunigami’s more serious nature would also balance out your Leo tendency for boldness, providing a grounding influence when needed.

His calm demeanour matches your own relaxed vibe. While he can be intense when it comes to football, outside of that, he’s a relatively quiet, steady person. He would give you space to be yourself and wouldn’t pressure you into being overly social if you’re feeling more introverted.

Your shared love for activities like reading and meditation would create a nice balance in your relationship. Kunigami isn’t just about football—he also values his personal time and enjoys self-reflection.

The physical aspect of your relationship would also align well. Kunigami’s athleticism and his strong build would be a comfortable match for you, especially given your preference for someone taller than you.

Kunigami’s isn't shy, but he does have a private side which would allow you to form a deeper connection with him. He isn’t one to open up easily, but once you get to know him, you’d uncover a lot more depth to his character. Kunigami is someone who tries to be his best self and can't really handle when people notice, he can't take a compliment easy, so praise is his kryptonite.

[ciaossu-imagines]

i just recently finished watching wind breaker, and i saw you have it on your list of fandoms, so can i request suo hayato + third prompt (headcanon meme) — 7th bullet point? tysm! <<3

Of course you can! I’m excited for my first time getting to write for the fandom, since it’s a recent watch of mine as well! I really enjoyed it and hope I’ll do justice to the characters, especially Suo because, while not my absolute favourite, I did adore him! Thank you so much for the ask, and I hope you’ll enjoy my thoughts!

IS THERE A SMALL HABIT THAT THEY DO EVERY DAY?

We already do know some of his small habits – that he wakes up roughly about the same time, that he meditates everyday. Honestly, I do see him as someone who has a fairly structured routine that he lives his life by overall, though he’s exceptionally well-versed at adapting and adjusting that routine should something come up that breaks it or requires him to forego it.

It’s just that overall, I think Suo feels better if he has some sort of routine to his days.

Little things matter to him – I think he has certain days where he allows himself small treats, like double dessert. They’re always the same days of the week, normally the days that he finds hardest to get through for him, and it gives him something to look forward throughout the week.

I think Suo prefers to fill his time with things that both bring him joy and are useful. Languages fill both those categories and, like a lot of us, I think that, despite having much better resources at his disposal, Suo fights with the owl every day. For those wondering, the owl is currently teaching him French. Suo really likes the way the language feels in his mouth and coming off his tongue but he hates learning the verb conjugations.

I don’t think he can sleep properly without a cup of tea before bed.

[amethystarachnid]

Hello! Hope you're well!

I was wondering if you could do do Billy Maximoff/William Kaplan? Where reader and Billy are friends and the reader has insomnia and he kind of keeps them company while they can't sleep? Sorry if this is to vague

-Anon ^.^

INSOMNIA

⤷ BILLY KAPLAN / MAXIMOFF

ᯓ★ Pairing: Billy Kaplan / Maximoff x gender neutral!reader

ᯓ★ Genre: fluff, platonic, comfort

ᯓ★ Story type: one shot

ᯓ★ Word count: 3.4k (I'm sorry if this is too short :( )

ᯓ★ Summary:what the ask said

ᯓ★ TW(s): nothing I think

ᯓ★ My first gender neutral reader ff so I'm sorry if it isn't the best...also, I wrote this in a platonic way because the ask didn't really specify so I wanted to focus more on the comfort side, hope you like it <3

ᯓ★ Comment if you want to be added to the taglist (specify if you want the everything taglist or for a specific character)

ᯓ★ My Masterlist

ᯓ★ MARVEL Multiverse - choose an AU, pair it with your favorite character and make a request!

ᯓ★ Songs & Superheroes tales - The Game (to make a request, follow the rules on the link!)

ᯓ★ MARVEL Bingo

ᯓ★ English isn’t my first language

The world outside your window is unnervingly quiet. It’s the kind of silence that presses against your ears, like it’s trying to crawl inside and take up permanent residence in your brain. The clock on your bedside table glows an obnoxious red: 1:14 AM. Another sleepless night stretches endlessly before you.

You’ve been here before—countless times, really. You’ve tried all the tricks: lavender sprays, white noise machines, guided meditations. Tonight, though, none of it works. The familiar heaviness clings to your body, exhaustion pulling at your limbs like you’re wading through molasses, but sleep refuses to take you.

You sigh and grab your phone from the nightstand, thumbing the unlock button and wincing as the screen lights up. You scroll for a few minutes, but nothing holds your attention. A pang of loneliness cuts through the quiet, sharp and unwelcome. The insomnia is bad, but the solitude it drags along with it is worse.

Without thinking too hard, you pull up Billy Kaplan’s contact. You hesitate for a second. It’s late, and normal people are asleep. But Billy isn’t exactly normal, is he? You smile faintly at the thought of him, magic sparking from his fingertips or floating midair like it’s the most natural thing in the world. You know he has weird hours sometimes—he's told you stories of late-night patrols or missions that stretch until sunrise. Maybe he’s awake. Maybe he won’t mind.

You type out a quick message: Hey. Sorry if I’m waking you up. Can’t sleep. Again.

Your finger hovers over the send button for a moment before you tap it. The message delivers, and you stare at the screen, waiting. A full minute ticks by, then another. Just as you start to feel like maybe you’ve overstepped, the familiar three dots appear, bouncing at the bottom of the screen. Relief washes over you.

You didn’t wake me up, Billy replies. What’s going on?

You glance around your dimly lit room as if the answer to his question might materialize somewhere in the shadows. It doesn’t, of course, so you settle for the truth.

Same old insomnia stuff, you type back. Everything’s too quiet, you know? Brain won’t shut up.

His response comes quickly. I get it. Been there. Want some company?

Your heart gives a tiny, grateful lurch at his offer. Billy always has this way of making you feel less… alone. Like even when the world is a mess and your mind won’t stop running in circles, he’s somehow got your back.

If you’re up for it, you reply. But don’t feel like you have to, okay?

Billy’s answer is instant this time, like he’s been waiting for you to say yes. Of course I’m up for it. I’ll be there in ten.

You blink at the screen, rereading the message. Your fingers fly across the keyboard. Wait, what? No, I didn’t mean you have to come over—

But he’s already typing again. Too late, I’m grabbing my jacket.

You stare at your phone, equal parts touched and mortified. Billy’s stubborn like that—when he decides to do something, there’s no stopping him.

True to his word, ten minutes later there’s a soft knock at your window. You nearly trip over your own feet rushing to open it, sliding the glass pane up to reveal Billy perched on the fire escape. His dark hoodie is zipped up to his chin, his hair slightly mussed from the night air. He grins at you, his breath visible in the cold.

“You’re ridiculous,” you whisper, stepping aside to let him climb in.

“I’ve been called worse,” he quips, swinging one leg inside and then the other. He lands lightly on your floor and brushes his hands together like he’s just finished an acrobatic feat. “And anyway, you’re the one who texted me. What kind of friend would I be if I just ignored you?”

You open your mouth to protest, but he cuts you off with a wave of his hand. “Don’t even start. I’m here, you’re stuck with me, and that’s final.”

Despite yourself, a laugh escapes you, quiet and breathy but genuine. “Fine. But I don’t know how entertaining I’m going to be. My brain’s fried.”

Billy shrugs, plopping down onto the edge of your bed. “Good thing I’m not here to be entertained, then.”

You sit cross-legged on the bed across from him, tugging at a loose thread on your pajama pants. For a moment, the room is silent, but it’s not the oppressive kind of silence you were drowning in earlier. With Billy here, the air feels lighter somehow, like you can actually breathe.

“Want to talk about it?” he asks after a beat, his voice soft but steady.

You shake your head. “It’s nothing new. Just… everything feels too loud, even when it’s quiet. Like my brain won’t stop replaying things I don’t want to think about.”

He nods, like he understands completely. And you know he does—Billy’s told you about his own struggles with anxiety, the nights where his thoughts get stuck in a loop. It’s one of the reasons you feel so safe with him. He gets it. He gets you.

“Well,” he says, leaning back on his hands, “if you don’t want to talk, we don’t have to. We could watch something, or I could try a spell to help you relax. Or I could just sit here and be a warm body taking up space, if that helps.”

You smile, warmth blooming in your chest at his earnestness. “I think just having you here helps.”

“Good,” he says, returning your smile. “Because I’m not going anywhere.”

Billy makes himself at home, which is something you’ve always loved about him. There’s no hesitation, no awkwardness. He’s the kind of person who walks into a room and brings his own kind of light to it, even in the dead of night. He kicks off his sneakers, tucking them neatly by the bed, and pulls his legs up so he’s sitting cross-legged on the comforter.

“So,” he says, clasping his hands together with mock solemnity, “what’s the plan? Should we attempt to bore your brain into submission with a documentary? Maybe something about 19th-century farming techniques?”

You snort, pulling a pillow into your lap. “I don’t think that’s going to help. My brain’s already decided it’s in turbo mode tonight.”

Billy hums thoughtfully, tilting his head as he considers your options. “Turbo mode, huh? Okay, how about this: we distract it. Total sensory overload, so it gets so overwhelmed it has no choice but to crash.”

You raise an eyebrow. “That sounds… chaotic.”

“Exactly.” He grins, leaning forward like he’s about to let you in on a secret. “We can raid your kitchen, make the most absurd midnight snack we can come up with, then put on a terrible movie and heckle it until we’re crying from laughter. Or—and hear me out—we can build a blanket fort and tell ghost stories until one of us freaks out and demands the lights stay on for the rest of the night.”

Despite your exhaustion, you can’t help but laugh at his enthusiasm. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Ridiculously charming,” he corrects, winking. “Come on, you’ve gotta pick one. This is prime insomnia survival strategy. I’m practically a professional at this.”

You shake your head, the weight on your chest easing slightly for the first time all night. “Okay, fine. Let’s start with the kitchen raid. But if you burn anything or blow something up with magic, you’re cleaning it up.”

Billy gasps, feigning offense as he clutches at his chest. “Me? Blow something up? I would never. I’m incredibly responsible.”

You roll your eyes but can’t fight the smile tugging at your lips. “Sure, Kaplan. Whatever you say.”

He hops off the bed, extending a hand to you. You take it, letting him pull you to your feet. His hand is warm, steady, and when he squeezes it lightly, you feel a little less like you’re floating in the void.

The two of you tiptoe into the kitchen like you’re on some covert mission, though there’s no one around to catch you. Billy throws open the fridge with a dramatic flourish, peering inside like he’s searching for buried treasure.

“Alright,” he says, scanning the contents. “We’ve got… eggs, some leftover pasta, half a jar of pickles, and—oh! Chocolate syrup. This is promising.”

“Promising for what, exactly?” you ask, leaning against the counter as you watch him pull random items out and set them down with exaggerated deliberation.

“A culinary masterpiece,” he declares, holding up a block of cheese like it’s a sacred artifact. “Trust the process.”

You cross your arms, narrowing your eyes at him. “Billy, if this turns into some kind of magical cooking experiment, I’m kicking you out.”

“Relax,” he says, waving a hand dismissively. “No magic, I promise. Just pure, unadulterated chaos.”

What follows is a half-hour of absolute nonsense. Billy insists on making “the ultimate midnight snack,” which ends up being a bizarre combination of toast, melted cheese, and chocolate syrup. It’s objectively terrible, but the two of you laugh so hard while making it that you don’t even care. When he takes a bite and immediately grimaces, you nearly double over.

“Okay, okay, maybe this was a bad idea,” he admits, scraping the mess into the trash. “But you can’t deny it was entertaining.”

“Entertaining, sure,” you agree, wiping tears of laughter from your eyes. “Edible? Not so much.”

He grins, tossing the plate into the sink. “Alright, round two. Blanket fort?”

You shake your head, still smiling. “You’re relentless.”

“It’s one of my best qualities,” he says, already tugging a chair from the kitchen table and dragging it toward the living room.

The blanket fort ends up being more elaborate than you expect, with Billy insisting on using string lights to give it the “proper ambiance.” He takes his time adjusting the blankets and cushions, muttering to himself about structural integrity and feng shui, while you sit cross-legged on the floor and try not to laugh too hard at his seriousness.

When he finally declares it complete, he steps back with a flourish, gesturing toward his creation like a proud architect. “Behold! The coziest fortress of insomnia resistance.”

You crawl inside, immediately enveloped by the soft glow of the lights and the warmth of the blankets. Billy follows, sitting cross-legged beside you and looking entirely too pleased with himself.

“This is actually… kind of amazing,” you admit, leaning back against a pile of cushions.

“Of course it is,” he says, tossing a throw pillow at you. “I don’t half-ass things, you know.”

The two of you settle into the fort, and for a while, it’s just quiet—comfortably so. Billy pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through streaming options, narrating the most ridiculous movie synopses he can find. Eventually, you settle on a cheesy horror movie, the kind that’s more funny than scary, and spend the next hour making fun of the terrible special effects and over-the-top acting.

At some point, you realize the heaviness in your chest has lifted. The restless buzz in your head has quieted, replaced by the sound of Billy’s laughter and the warmth of his presence beside you. You’re still tired, but it feels… manageable now. Like you can breathe without the weight of the world pressing down on you.

When the movie ends, Billy stretches, his arms brushing against yours in the close quarters of the fort. “Feeling any better?”

You nod, leaning your head back against the cushions. “Yeah. Thanks for this. For coming over.”

He shrugs, but there’s a softness in his expression that you don’t miss. “What are friends for?”

For a moment, neither of you speaks. The quiet feels different now—softer, safer. You glance over at Billy, who’s staring up at the ceiling of the fort like he’s lost in thought.

“Hey,” you say, your voice low. “How do you always know exactly what to do? Like, when I feel like this?”

He turns his head to look at you, his eyes warm and earnest. “I don’t always know. But I’ve been where you are. I know how lonely it feels. And I know it helps to have someone there, even if they’re just sitting with you in the middle of the night.”

Your chest tightens, but this time it’s not from the weight of insomnia. It’s from the quiet, overwhelming gratitude you feel for him. “You’re a good friend, Billy.”

“So are you,” he says, bumping your shoulder lightly with his own. “Don’t forget that.”

The two of you stay in the fort for a while longer, talking about nothing and everything. Eventually, your eyelids start to grow heavy, the exhaustion finally catching up to you. Billy notices, of course—he always notices—and gently nudges you toward lying down.

“Get some rest,” he says, pulling a blanket over you. “I’ll stay until you’re asleep.”

“You don’t have to,” you mumble, already half-asleep.

“I know,” he says softly. “But I’m not going anywhere.”

And he doesn’t. As your eyes drift shut, you feel him there beside you, steady and constant, his presence a quiet reassurance in the dark. For the first time in what feels like forever, you let yourself relax, the weight of the night slipping away.

Billy stays until the world finally goes quiet—for both of you.

You wake up slowly, the kind of groggy, dreamlike awakening that doesn’t quite feel real. The world is blurry at first, hazy with the afterglow of sleep. Sleep. The word sticks in your brain as you lie there, blinking at the golden light filtering through the edges of your curtains.

You sit up, your body sluggish, your limbs weighed down—but not by exhaustion. No, this is different. This is the good kind of heavy, the kind that comes from actually getting some rest. You grab your phone from where it’s fallen beside you on the bed and glance at the time.

9:23 AM.

Your eyes widen. That can’t be right. You check the time again, but it’s the same. You calculate quickly, your mind trying to wrap itself around the reality in front of you. You’d fallen asleep sometime after 4 AM, you’re sure of it. Which means you’ve slept for… five hours? No, more than five hours.

Six.

Six whole hours.

Your heart skips a beat as the realization sinks in. That’s the longest you’ve slept in… well, you can’t even remember. A sense of disbelief bubbles up, mingling with cautious relief. You almost want to laugh, but it feels too delicate, too fragile, like you might jinx it if you acknowledge it out loud.

As you take in the cozy mess of your room, you notice the blanket fort is still standing—albeit a little lopsided now. The cushions are scattered, and the string lights are still glowing softly, casting the room in a warm, golden hue. The faint smell of chocolate syrup and cheese lingers in the air, a reminder of Billy’s “culinary masterpiece” from the night before.

Billy.

You glance around and spot him immediately, sprawled out on the floor just outside the fort. He’s fast asleep, one arm flung over his eyes and the other clutching a throw pillow. His hoodie is bunched up slightly at his waist, and his hair sticks out in a dozen different directions. He looks peaceful, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

The sight tugs at your heart. He stayed. You remember his words from the night before: I’ll stay until you’re asleep. And he did. Of course he did.

You slide out from under the blankets as quietly as you can, tiptoeing over to where he’s lying. You kneel down beside him, unsure whether to wake him or let him sleep. He looks so serene, and you hate the idea of disturbing him, especially when he probably got less rest than you did.

Still, you can’t help yourself. “Billy,” you whisper softly, leaning close. “Hey, Billy. Wake up.”

He stirs slightly, muttering something unintelligible before cracking one eye open. When he sees you, a sleepy smile spreads across his face. “Morning,” he mumbles, his voice thick with sleep. “Did you actually sleep, or am I dreaming?”

You laugh quietly, shaking your head. “I slept. For six hours.”

His eyes snap open at that, and he props himself up on one elbow, grinning like he’s just won the lottery. “Six hours? Are you kidding me? That’s a record!”

“I know,” you say, unable to hide the smile on your face. “I don’t even remember the last time I slept that long.”

He beams at you, his pride and excitement so genuine it makes your chest ache. “See? I told you I’m good at this whole insomnia survival thing.”

“You’re insufferable,” you tease, but there’s no bite to your words.

“And yet, you keep inviting me back,” he shoots back, sitting up fully now. He stretches, groaning softly as his back cracks. “Man, your floor is not the most comfortable sleeping spot, by the way.”

“Should’ve taken the bed,” you say, standing and offering him a hand. He takes it, letting you pull him to his feet.

“And risk you waking up and finding me drooling on your pillow? Nah, I’ll take the floor.” He smirks, brushing nonexistent dust off his hoodie. “So, how does it feel to be a well-rested human being for once?”

You pause, considering the question. It feels… weird, honestly. Your body isn’t quite used to this, and there’s a lingering sense of disbelief, like it might all be a fluke. But beneath that, there’s something else—a quiet, tentative hope. Like maybe this could happen again.

“Honestly?” you say, looking up at him. “It feels kind of amazing. And kind of terrifying.”

Billy’s expression softens, the teasing edge fading from his smile. “You deserve to feel amazing,” he says, his voice warm and sincere. “And we’ll figure out the terrifying part together. Deal?”

You nod, your throat tightening with emotion. “Deal.”

The two of you spend the next hour dismantling the fort, laughing as you try to untangle the string lights without breaking them. Billy insists on folding the blankets “properly,” which mostly involves him dramatically demonstrating his method until you throw a pillow at him to shut him up.

Once the room is back to its usual state of organized chaos, Billy flops onto the couch, grabbing the remote. “Alright, what’s next? Breakfast? Second terrible movie? Or do we celebrate your six-hour victory lap with a victory dance?”

You roll your eyes, sitting down beside him. “Maybe we start with breakfast. Something normal this time. No chocolate syrup.”

“Fine,” he says, feigning disappointment. “But only because you deserve a real meal after your record-breaking night.”

You both head to the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge and cupboards until you come up with a decent spread: scrambled eggs, toast, and some slightly overripe fruit that Billy insists on cutting into “fancy shapes.” It’s simple, but it’s comforting, the kind of meal that feels like a small celebration in itself.

As you eat, the conversation drifts to lighter topics—movies you want to watch, places you want to visit, the absurdity of Billy’s “midnight snack” experiment. He’s easy to talk to, as always, and you find yourself laughing more than you have in days.

When the plates are cleared and the kitchen is (mostly) clean, you sit back with a contented sigh. The weight that usually clings to you after a sleepless night is nowhere to be found, replaced by a sense of lightness you hadn’t thought possible.

Billy notices, of course. He always notices. “You’re smiling,” he says, leaning back against the counter and crossing his arms. “It looks good on you.”

You feel your cheeks warm under his gaze, but you don’t shy away. “It’s your fault, you know. You’re a good distraction.”

“Distraction is my middle name,” he says, grinning. “Billy Distraction Kaplan. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

You laugh, shaking your head. “You’re ridiculous.”

“And yet, here I am,” he says, spreading his arms. “Your favorite ridiculous person.”

He’s not wrong. And as you look at him, standing there with that easy smile and the kind of warmth that feels like home, you realize just how much he means to you. Billy isn’t just your favorite ridiculous person—he’s your anchor, your safe place in the storm. And for the first time in a long time, you feel like maybe, just maybe, you’re going to be okay.

“Thank you,” you say softly, your voice steady but full of meaning. “For staying. For… everything.”

His smile softens, and he steps closer, resting a hand on your shoulder. “Always,” he says simply. “That’s what friends are for.”

And as the sunlight streams through the kitchen window, illuminating the quiet joy of the morning, you know he means it.

[seeyouonsaturn]

I feel like I haven't sent asks in a while ??? yay new game! I mostly have you and Prowl in mind for this, but I always want to hear about The OCS��� if you'd like to chat about anyone 💖

What song(s) represent you and f/o?

What are the tropes/tags for you and f/o? (Think AO3 tags)

Who was the first to confess? You or f/o?

Between you and f/o, who talks more and who listens intently? 

It’s movie night! What are you and f/o watching?

Pick a Pokémon to represent you and your f/o :3

Who is the mischief maker? Are you both? Neither? Is one trying to dissuade the other? Encouraging?

How does f/o hug you?

ask game

Prowl on the mind 💜 I reblogged this ask game specifically for Prowl, if you want to hear about oc ships you gotta ask directly <3 otherwise. You get Prowl!

[🪻 2] What song(s) represent you and f/o?

You know me so well <3 witness my publically made selfship playlist! I don't even use spotify, I made this specifically for sharing purposes.

But also, I shall list my favorites once more! (Some of them. Or else I'd be listing the entire playlist).

Saturn – Sleeping at Last

Lose You Now - Lindsey Stirling, Mako

It's a Beautiful Life – Billy Raffoul

Born to be Yours - Kygo, Imagine Dragons

By Your Side (In My Mind) – Leony

[🪻 8] What are the tropes/tags for you and f/o? (Think AO3 tags)

I really, really do not read enough fic to be able to answer this. You tell me though!!

#major character death

[🪻 9] Who was the first to confess? You or f/o?

I don't remember that far back. I don't think either of us ever had to properly confess though. It just happened naturally, there wasn't any need for words. I really don't remember how it started though, I just remember that he was there.

But if one of us did have to confess, it must've been him, because there's no way baby me would have done that lmao.

[🪻 12] Between you and f/o, who talks more and who listens intently?

I do talk more, especially once I get really into something, and Prowl does of course happily listen to me. But we're both quiet people at our core, so a lot of our shared time is spent just enjoying comfortable silence together. Parallel play is a wonderful thing. It's usually us spending all day in silence, and then at night you suddenly get the endless, deep conversations that fundamentally change you as a person.

[🪻 18] It’s movie night! What are you and f/o watching?

Probably a nature documentary! I may love my cartoons, but they're not Prowl's thing so much, even though he's willing to entertain me and watch them together if I ask nicely. I certainly do make him watch my favorites just so he's aware of them. But looking at creatures is something we both enjoy, so that's the obvious go-to.

[🪻 24] Pick a Pokémon to represent you and your f/o :3

Okay hear me out,

same color scheme. (Take the red eyes from me I dare you). And it's called Ninjask [the ninja pokémon]. You can't fool me Prowl, I know that's you.

As for me – I know other cat Pokémon may feel more like my vibe (I'm sure nobody questions whether or not it's a cat one), but when I first got into Pokémon, I immediately felt drawn to Skitty and Delcatty, so I'm sticking with those. Ran out of images (yay mobile), but. Skitty. I'm Skitty.

[🪻 28] Who is the mischief maker? Are you both? Neither? Is one trying to dissuade the other? Encouraging?

answered here 💜

[🪻 32] How does f/o hug you?

Carefully, because it's not like he can squeeze. And we have to watch how exactly he holds me too, so I don't hurt myself on the kibble. So proper hugs are rather rare, and it's more likely that you'll find me on his shoulder hugging his helm or a hand instead.

What we do most of the time is me sitting on his lap, as I usually do, and him draping his arms around me and pulling me closer. Given the size difference, that's more comfortable than a hug, and he can continue his meditation without being disturbed too. I really am just his lap cat <3

[cheetahsprints]

Prompt #10: Ghost

Inspired by this post

• Sonadow Prompt Fills •

• Ambience Music •

Content Warning: Implied Major Character Death (of a sort)

*

Green Hill is restored, but Shadow feels like the luscious greenery all around and clear blue skies above are mocking him. He skates from one end to the other day to day without aim. He does what he can to watch over the island, the planet, its life. He promised.

He promised Sonic he would take care of them.

Time blends into a shapeless, colorless blur, empty and sullen. The days turn to weeks that lack a certain spirit. They no longer experience intense, fiery rivalry between a remarkable pair of hedgehogs. Sonic’s friends try to go on to the best of their ability. Tails hasn’t given up, not entirely, but Shadow can see that it’s wearing him down. He practically has to bully the young fox into eating and sleeping some days.

Shadow should tell them that he’s still… seeing him.

He shouldn’t burden them.

They would just think he is insane.

Shadow uses Chaos Control each night to secretly enter the locked up obscured structure where the Paradox Prism is contained. He has to be near it. The night that he found out, he told Sonic’s friends… but for some reason it hadn’t worked for them. Though they didn’t express it in so many words, he could tell they believed he was just dreaming.

Maybe he is deluding himself, maybe has cracked.

It doesn’t stop him.

He rolls into a tight ball and clears his mind. The Prism energy seems to prickle through his quills. It took him a while to actually calm himself enough to sleep after the first time, where he had been unusually exhausted and had practically passed out. He exercises extensively, then drinks relaxing tea before evening. He avoids caffeine and sugar, and he meditates whenever he gets the chance.

The void materializes before him, and he rockets toward Sonic’s usual spot. Sonic immediately perks and smiles when he notices Shadow’s arrival.

“Shadow!”

The enthusiastic cry of his name is pleasing for his ears.

If Shadow doesn’t examine him too closely, Sonic looks completely solid. He isn’t a dream, he isn’t a ghost. He’s real, and Shadow can definitely still smell a mix of coconut and sweat on him. He would be able to hear his heartbeat and feel his breath, if he tried.

Shadow lands next to him at a reasonable distance. He can’t risk brushing against him… because he has an aversion, he tells himself, per usual. No other reason. Nevermind that touching Sonic recently became easier… before the disaster found its costly conclusion.

“Sonic.”

“How is everyone?”

“Well enough. I made sure Tails took a break.”

“Good… good.” Sonic taps his foot. “Um… so what have you been up to? Besides keeping an eye on the team.”

“Your team,” Shadow points out. “I… just run around, I guess, or brood, as you’d call it.”

Sonic scoffs and wags a disapproving finger at him. “Mister Diligence. Workaholic. Don’t you have any hobbies? I know you like music. Make sure to jam to your favorite tunes. Wait, I know! You should try gardening. You could grow your own veggies or flowers and bring me some - uh, forget that last part. Hey, you’ve been eating plenty of chili dogs for me, right?”

“When I can tolerate them,” Shadow admits.

“I’ll take it!” After a moment of silence, Sonic says in a low, gentle tone, “Thanks.”

Shadow briefly pushes his black and red quills back. “Yeah. You’re welcome.”

“Not just for… but for visiting me as well.”

Dread sinks into his stomach as Sonic darts forward and tries to hug him. He slips through Shadow, and Shadow shivers. It doesn’t feel like anything, and that’s what makes his fur stand on end. Sonic gives an awkward chuckle.

“Sonic…”

“I - man - I forgot.”

“You’re not real,” Shadow mumbles. “You’re a figment of my mind to make me feel like… I’m honoring your memory. Like I didn’t fucking fail.”

Sonic crosses his arms and frowns. Shadow hates it… he wants him to only smile… Why’d he have to ruin that? Shadow looks away. Whatever fucked up part of his brain keeps this charade going, it doesn’t allow him to manipulate Sonic to his preferences. Sonic’s pose is too reminiscent of his own tendencies.

It makes him feel even more like this specter is simply an extension of his broken mind and aching heart. It’s a twisted reflection created by his guilty subconscious to torture him.

“That’s not true. I am real. Don’t be so hard on yourself, asshole. You didn’t fail, you did your best. It’s not your fault! It was my choice. What happened, happened. You could’ve just… not bothered. Left the island or something. You’re a good friend, Shadow.”

“Friend… I’m no friend.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Sonic places a hand on his hip. “We’re pals. Buddies. Amigos. Good old regular chums. Confidants, even. Face it. After everything, you can’t deny that.”

Shadow roars, “You’re dead or worse, a ghost trapped in an eternal void, you damn self-sacrificing hedgehog! I didn’t give myself a chance to appreciate what I had, what we could’ve had, until you were gone!!!”

You’re one to talk about sacrifice, a little voice in the back of his mind reminds him.

Sonic’s ears droop, and he flinches back. Shadow balls his hands into fists, wishing he could dig his claws into his palms through the gloves. He wishes he could actually hug Sonic, or at least punch him, whether he’s actually there or not. He wishes, not for the first time, to trade places with someone he loved.

He wants to remove his inhibitors and Chaos Blast this stupid, horrible limbo until he is totally drained.

“Never too late,” Sonic whispers, looking down and scuffing his shoe on the rock. “Plus it’s not so bad here really, since I get to see you, and I have plenty of time to think about how to be a better friend to everyone when I get back.”

“But it is. It is too late. It’s too late for me to love you like I should have,” Shadow insists.

Sonic’s head jerks up and his mouth falls open, his eyes searching Shadow’s hard stare. Shadow closes his eyes as Sonic steps forward, reaching as though to rest a hand on his face.

Shadow wakes up, chilly and alone in the dark cave. The world may not have truly ended, but it feels even more like a ghost in the shadows than it had when the Prism was shattered. Shadow and Sonic were shattered in its place, in different ways, instead.

*

[hel-phoenyx]

Skuld, Kaizarz and Valentina are @corneille-but-not-the-author's, Meili is @azeler's, Oli is @thal-ent's and Domhildr is @soupedepates's

You know there's some days like this.

Days when you're just lying down under the sun, sun too harsh for my constitution might I add, armor down and only in shirt and pants to be perfectly sure I'm only going to get sunburnt around my scales, with contraband erotica in my hands.

Good days.

Yeah I know, there's a word in my thoughts that doesn't see quite right. How can I, Krakenian nobility of sorts, endorse smuggling ? And to that I'll answer it's not my fault the best books are Inkan. That vampire writer with a reputation really knows how to write.

Also I have ties with clandestine groups. Many. Many ties.

So yeah. It's hard enough finding a book in the Coast so I have to smuggle my reading material here. And Olivia just happened to sell me with a huge discount a batch that contained a lot of erotica. She winked at me when she gave them to me, saying it's from Solveig. Neither of them have forgotten me, it seems.

I would have preferred that, but it's also my fault for relying on their activity.

Aaaanyway. Enough with the backstory, my point is, I'm having a good day. Oli is sunbathing somewhere and Meili is probably meditating, if I judge by his serene expression and posture. This time, Skuld couldn't get out of her cave, even though the departure is very close at hand ; and I don't wanna think about Valentina right now. So, the only two I don't know the whereabouts of are Domhildr and Kaizarz.

It's worrying for different reasons, but I'm too absorbed in my book to seek them. Hey, it's a good book. And in Ink those kinds of books still are very, very rare, so I must enjoy it while it lasts.

Some noise makes itself heard a lil bit further on the boat. Probably Kaizarz. I would recognize his steps anywhere, especially on the ocean where my senses are heightened. And I have the confirmation when something litteraly leaps towards me.

I don't lift my head. The scene I'm reading is a bit too fascinating for that, even if it is, indeed, Kaizarz ; That's saying how well the book is written. And, well, when the two main characters are finally sleeping together after a slowburn I have never seen before in erotica of course I have to see what's next.

"Hey bro ! Wanna come swim with us ?"

I don't even lift my head.

"I'm warning you, your majesty, as much as I like you, this time I will not activate my spell for you to float with your armor on."

I had enough with the last five times. Seriously, that man is gonna be the death of me in several ways and one is exhausting my magic so I can stop his 8'3'' ass in full metal armor from drowning.

I think he realised I was casting a spell to make him float when I fainted once and he suddenly needed to use way more energy to swim. After that he never asked us to dive in the ocean again, that is, until today.

I guess someone finally learned how to swim in just a shirt and pants as one does. And that someone is still standing next to me, waiting for a more conclusive answer I didn't give for a reason.

"Ah, don't worry about it, I had enough with one occasion of you fainting in the middle of the sea. Don't wanna save you from drowning again..."

I can taste the heaviness in that specific sentence. I don't say anything.

"So I took my precautions ! I can swim just fine, so, you coming or what ?"

I knew he wouldn't get satisfied with a vague no. And I really can't say it explicitely to him, his puppy smile always makes me fold. The tribulations of a man in love.

I guess I'll have to use clearer metaphors to express my absolute absence of desire to go in the godsdamned sea. With all due respect to my great-great-grandpa.

"As you can see, I am in the middle of reading, so-"

While saying that, I commit the mistake of lifting my head. And my next words just block themselves in my throat.

Are you fucking kidding me there-

Kaizarz. My king. The one I'm in love with since, apparently, a long time. Idiot with a heart of gold, if I do say so myself. Used to swimming in the ocean in full armor. after so many infructuous attempts from Domhildr to undress him one way of another. Is standing fucking shirtless in front of me.

By all the rotten scales of the Ocean Dragon why right now ????

Worst is he's smiling and that is probably what is coloring my cheeks red the most. That, and the fact I can recall where he got some of the scars and those are moments I really can't forget. cue the Tournament for Glory.

And I'm reading godsdamn porn, give me a fucking break !!!

Of course he notices something changed in my attitude, and tilts his head towards me, eyes full with worry.

"You okay bestie ? You're red as fuck..."

"... You know me and sunlight," I manage to utter between my lips, hoping to not sound too needy. "I have a very low heat tolerance and you're doing anything but blocking the sun right now."

Quite the contrary, in fact. Because the sun doesn't smile and wave towards me with laugh lines behind the beard, but mine sure as fuck does.

Fortunately, he's still oblivious to my internal struggles. He just shrugs.

"Going for a swim may help you with that ?"

"Later. I'm reading."

"And I know better than to get in the way between Tyr and a book," he laughs with that huge smile that makes my heart flutter everytime. See you later then !"

Thank ocean he doesn't search further. I hurriedly come back to my book, a false good idea considering the page I'm at, and he waves at me before diving right in the ocean. Leaving behind him Domhildr, that I didn't notice until now, with a smile up to her ears.

"Enjoying the view ?"

From my mouth escapes the heaviest sigh I have ever let go.

"So you're telling me, Domi, that the day you finally manage to get him topless is the day I am balls deep in a sex scene from my newest book ?"

Domhildr has a teasing laugh. Joined by Oli, that apparently noticed the commotion.

"I know something else you wanna get balls deep in right now~"

"And I know someone else who is topless," adds Oli with a sly smile. "Right, Tyr ?"

...

Alright.

You want war, you little shits ?

I'll give you Civil War.

And this time there's no Kaizarz to stop a Tyrant.

I don't say a word while I mark my book, carefully, before standing up like I would go back to my cabin, the usual reaction when there's too much teasing. But instead of just isolating to finish my godsdamn reading in peace, I leap towards the two annoyances and catch one in my hand before throwing the other on my shoulder.

Both scream in surprise, and I almost hear Domhildr calling for Kaizarz, but it's too late, I am heading towards my destination and I am determined. Also, I am the strongest one there right after Kaizarz, so there's no use fighting against me, one-handed or not.

"You win this, you little cockroaches. Time to freshen up your filthy heads !"

"Nooooooooo ! Let me go, you big ass bitch !"

"Kaizaaaaaaaarz ! Tyr is being a meaniiiiiiiiie !"

But Kaizarz is already where I wanna send you, and Meili doesn't even flinch when I throw those two overboard, before invoking a wave big enough to catch them before they have any chance to fly away.

Who's laughing now, uh ?

I was careful now to let them drown, but the precaution is useless. Domhildr landed on Kaizarz head, both of them submerged by the wave, and Oli managed to catch one of his arms. And both of them are now looking at me with exaggerated outrage.

From up there on the boat, I smile and wave.

"Enjoy the bathtime !"

"Gngngngngngn," grunts Domhildr while lifting her fist. "Wait until our wings are dry and you're gonna get it !"

"Oh, I'm terrified. What are you gonna do, headbutt me in the knees ?"

"I will punch your dick, asshole-"

She raises her fist again, but loses momentum and falls right in Kaizarz's arms. Kaizarz who is, might I say, laughing with a very lost expression. Surprised by the weather, dear ? On the sea, I make the forecast, and I predict a sudden rain of annoying friends.

"You're on wing cleaning duty, you big bully" adds Oli while sticking their tongue at me. "And enjoy your place up there while it lasts !"

"Oh, I don't know, I think you're both in a very enjoyable position right now."

That is, one gripping Kaizarz's biceps and the other on his arms, laying right on his chest. I'd almost get jealous, if those weren't my dearest friends.

Oli and Domhildr are probably still cussing me out, but I stopped listening to them. I have a book to finish, after all, and finally some sort of peace for me to enjoy.

Meili, out of his meditating, gives me a inquisitive look.

"Bullying the young again, Tyr ?"

"They started it. I was trying to read. Also, there has to be an upside in being both the eldest and the second tallest, dont'cha think ?"

He shakes his head in faked dissapointment.

"You're enjoying that a bit too much."

"Says the one that threw an entire water bucket on Domi's head last drinking game. Bucket included."

"Well, she almost got me drowned, so it's appropriate."

Fair. And I think we can agree Domhildr always deserves it. When it's harmless bullying.

Anyway, back to the book. I need to know if the main characters are finally telling each other I love you's or if it's only a new step in that absolute slowburn.

... wait why am I feeling menaced right now-

I don't even have time to think "fuck". Something non identified, yet very identifyable just caught me right around the waist to give me the Oli treatment : Being thrown on a shoulder. And why do I say it's very identifyable ?

One : There's nobody but one person tall and strong enough to pull that.

Two : There's ginger hair in my field of vision.

Three : I'd recognize that laugh anywhere.

"Hey, what the fuck, Kaizarz ???"

I try to escape, but it's no use, he's holding me too tight and only thing I can do is squirm in his arms. Gods is that an awkward position. I still have not recovered from the shirtless-vision-after-reading-about-sex situation, and now he's both holding me tight and laughing like someone about to do something I'll be the only one to regret ?

Worst is I can see his face from my position and that mischevious look is not helping me regain strenght.

"Let me go, you big dumb ass-"

"No no no," he laughs without even loosening his grip. "You know what happens to big bullies, Tyr, when they throw people in the sea ! They get karmic retribution~"

"I'm gonna shove that retribution up your ass if you don't let go-"

I was planning to use another wave to land softly when he, inevitably, throws me in the sea. Maybe concentrate all my energy to try and walk on water, even though I'm still unable to pull that. But Kaizarz had other plans, apparently.

Because that absolute asshole, with all my affection, just jumped in the water still holding me. Before letting go at the last fucking second.

Bitch-

So of course no time to try and minimize the damage. I emerge soaked in saltwater and with my clothes sticking to my skin in a very, very not enjoyable feeling.

"For fuck's sake," I snarl while trying to stabilise in the water. "I had just remade my hairdo !"

"I can do it again for you, Kriss showed me how to," said my unshakeable king with his puppy smile on his face. "And you looked like you needed a bath !"

Oli and Domhildr did not stop laughing since I emerged, but I do not pay them any attention. My entire being is focused on Kaizarz that looks too happy to have enacted their revenge.

My eyes roll.

"I am so gonna bite you."

"Try me~"

I, in fact, do not try. Because he's better at me in one-on-one combat, even right there in the sea, and I do not intend to lose my advantage even for the very tempting idea to sink my very pointy teeth into his shoulder and see if he can still use that arm to throw me in the ocean. In place, I just invoke another wave to crash righ on his face.

Better fight on a field I have the upper hand in, right ?

[eternal-haunt]

What vain weathercocks we are! I, who had determined to hold myself independent of all social intercourse, and thanked my stars that, at length, I had lighted on a spot where it was next to impracticable—I, weak wretch, after maintaining till dusk a struggle with low spirits and solitude, was finally compelled to strike my colours; and under pretence of gaining information concerning the necessities of my establishment, I desired Mrs. Dean, when she brought in supper, to sit down while I ate it; hoping sincerely she would prove a regular gossip, and either rouse me to animation or lull me to sleep by her talk.

‘You have lived here a considerable time,’ I commenced; ‘did you not say sixteen years?’

‘Eighteen, sir: I came when the mistress was married, to wait on her; after she died, the master retained me for his housekeeper.’

‘Indeed.’

There ensued a pause. She was not a gossip, I feared; unless about her own affairs, and those could hardly interest me. However, having studied for an interval, with a fist on either knee, and a cloud of meditation over her ruddy countenance, she ejaculated ‘Ah, times are greatly changed since then!’

‘Yes,’ I remarked, ‘you’ve seen a good many alterations, I suppose?’

‘I have: and troubles too,’ she said.

‘Oh, I’ll turn the talk on my landlord’s family!’ I thought to myself. ‘A good subject to start! And that pretty girl-widow, I should like to know her history: whether she be a native of the country, or, as is more probable, an exotic that the surly indigenae will not recognise for kin.’ With this intention I asked Mrs. Dean why Heathcliff let Thrushcross Grange, and preferred living in a situation and residence so much inferior. ‘Is he not rich enough to keep the estate in good order?’ I inquired.

‘Rich, sir!’ she returned. ‘He has nobody knows what money, and every year it increases. Yes, yes, he’s rich enough to live in a finer house than this: but he’s very near—close-handed; and, if he had meant to flit to Thrushcross Grange, as soon as he heard of a good tenant he could not have borne to miss the chance of getting a few hundreds more. It is strange people should be so greedy, when they are alone in the world!’

‘He had a son, it seems?’

‘Yes, he had one—he is dead.’

‘And that young lady, Mrs. Heathcliff, is his widow?’

‘Yes.’

‘Where did she come from originally?’

‘Why, sir, she is my late master’s daughter: Catherine Linton was her maiden name. I nursed her, poor thing! I did wish Mr. Heathcliff would remove here, and then we might have been together again.’

‘What! Catherine Linton?’ I exclaimed, astonished. But a minute’s reflection convinced me it was not my ghostly Catherine. Then,’ I continued, ‘my predecessor’s name was Linton?’

‘It was.’

‘And who is that Earnshaw: Hareton Earnshaw, who lives with Mr. Heathcliff? Are they relations?’

‘No; he is the late Mrs. Linton’s nephew.’

‘The young lady’s cousin, then?’

‘Yes; and her husband was her cousin also: one on the mother’s, the other on the father’s side: Heathcliff married Mr. Linton’s sister.’

‘I see the house at Wuthering Heights has “Earnshaw” carved over the front door. Are they an old family?’

‘Very old, sir; and Hareton is the last of them, as our Miss Cathy is of us—I mean, of the Lintons. Have you been to Wuthering Heights? I beg pardon for asking; but I should like to hear how she is!’

‘Mrs. Heathcliff? she looked very well, and very handsome; yet, I think, not very happy.’

‘Oh dear, I don’t wonder! And how did you like the master?’

‘A rough fellow, rather, Mrs. Dean. Is not that his character?

‘Rough as a saw-edge, and hard as whinstone! The less you meddle with him the better.’

‘He must have had some ups and downs in life to make him such a churl. Do you know anything of his history?’

‘It’s a cuckoo’s, sir—I know all about it: except where he was born, and who were his parents, and how he got his money at first. And Hareton has been cast out like an unfledged dunnock! The unfortunate lad is the only one in all this parish that does not guess how he has been cheated.’

‘Well, Mrs. Dean, it will be a charitable deed to tell me something of my neighbours: I feel I shall not rest if I go to bed; so be good enough to sit and chat an hour.’

‘Oh, certainly, sir! I’ll just fetch a little sewing, and then I’ll sit as long as you please. But you’ve caught cold: I saw you shivering, and you must have some gruel to drive it out.’

The worthy woman bustled off, and I crouched nearer the fire; my head felt hot, and the rest of me chill: moreover, I was excited, almost to a pitch of foolishness, through my nerves and brain. This caused me to feel, not uncomfortable, but rather fearful (as I am still) of serious effects from the incidents of today and yesterday. She returned presently, bringing a smoking basin and a basket of work; and, having placed the former on the hob, drew in her seat, evidently pleased to find me so companionable.

Before I came to live here, she commenced—waiting no farther invitation to her story—I was almost always at Wuthering Heights; because my mother had nursed Mr. Hindley Earnshaw, that was Hareton’s father, and I got used to playing with the children: I ran errands too, and helped to make hay, and hung about the farm ready for anything that anybody would set me to. One fine summer morning—it was the beginning of harvest, I remember—Mr. Earnshaw, the old master, came downstairs, dressed for a journey; and, after he had told Joseph what was to be done during the day, he turned to Hindley, and Cathy, and me—for I sat eating my porridge with them—and he said, speaking to his son, ‘Now, my bonny man, I’m going to Liverpool today, what shall I bring you? You may choose what you like: only let it be little, for I shall walk there and back: sixty miles each way, that is a long spell!’ Hindley named a fiddle, and then he asked Miss Cathy; she was hardly six years old, but she could ride any horse in the stable, and she chose a whip. He did not forget me; for he had a kind heart, though he was rather severe sometimes. He promised to bring me a pocketful of apples and pears, and then he kissed his children, said goodbye, and set off.

It seemed a long while to us all—the three days of his absence—and often did little Cathy ask when he would be home. Mrs. Earnshaw expected him by supper-time on the third evening, and she put the meal off hour after hour; there were no signs of his coming, however, and at last the children got tired of running down to the gate to look. Then it grew dark; she would have had them to bed, but they begged sadly to be allowed to stay up; and, just about eleven o’clock, the door-latch was raised quietly, and in stepped the master. He threw himself into a chair, laughing and groaning, and bid them all stand off, for he was nearly killed—he would not have such another walk for the three kingdoms.

‘And at the end of it to be flighted to death!’ he said, opening his great-coat, which he held bundled up in his arms. ‘See here, wife! I was never so beaten with anything in my life: but you must e’en take it as a gift of God; though it’s as dark almost as if it came from the devil.’

We crowded round, and over Miss Cathy’s head I had a peep at a dirty, ragged, black-haired child; big enough both to walk and talk: indeed, its face looked older than Catherine’s; yet when it was set on its feet, it only stared round, and repeated over and over again some gibberish that nobody could understand. I was frightened, and Mrs. Earnshaw was ready to fling it out of doors: she did fly up, asking how he could fashion to bring that gipsy brat into the house, when they had their own bairns to feed and fend for? What he meant to do with it, and whether he were mad? The master tried to explain the matter; but he was really half dead with fatigue, and all that I could make out, amongst her scolding, was a tale of his seeing it starving, and houseless, and as good as dumb, in the streets of Liverpool, where he picked it up and inquired for its owner. Not a soul knew to whom it belonged, he said; and his money and time being both limited, he thought it better to take it home with him at once, than run into vain expenses there: because he was determined he would not leave it as he found it. Well, the conclusion was, that my mistress grumbled herself calm; and Mr. Earnshaw told me to wash it, and give it clean things, and let it sleep with the children.

Hindley and Cathy contented themselves with looking and listening till peace was restored: then, both began searching their father’s pockets for the presents he had promised them. The former was a boy of fourteen, but when he drew out what had been a fiddle, crushed to morsels in the great-coat, he blubbered aloud; and Cathy, when she learned the master had lost her whip in attending on the stranger, showed her humour by grinning and spitting at the stupid little thing; earning for her pains a sound blow from her father, to teach her cleaner manners. They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room; and I had no more sense, so I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it might he gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw’s door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house.

This was Heathcliff’s first introduction to the family. On coming back a few days afterwards (for I did not consider my banishment perpetual), I found they had christened him ‘Heathcliff’: it was the name of a son who died in childhood, and it has served him ever since, both for Christian and surname. Miss Cathy and he were now very thick; but Hindley hated him: and to say the truth I did the same; and we plagued and went on with him shamefully: for I wasn’t reasonable enough to feel my injustice, and the mistress never put in a word on his behalf when she saw him wronged.

He seemed a sullen, patient child; hardened, perhaps, to ill-treatment: he would stand Hindley’s blows without winking or shedding a tear, and my pinches moved him only to draw in a breath and open his eyes, as if he had hurt himself by accident, and nobody was to blame. This endurance made old Earnshaw furious, when he discovered his son persecuting the poor fatherless child, as he called him. He took to Heathcliff strangely, believing all he said (for that matter, he said precious little, and generally the truth), and petting him up far above Cathy, who was too mischievous and wayward for a favourite.

So, from the very beginning, he bred bad feeling in the house; and at Mrs. Earnshaw’s death, which happened in less than two years after, the young master had learned to regard his father as an oppressor rather than a friend, and Heathcliff as a usurper of his parent’s affections and his privileges; and he grew bitter with brooding over these injuries. I sympathised a while; but when the children fell ill of the measles, and I had to tend them, and take on me the cares of a woman at once, I changed my idea. Heathcliff was dangerously sick; and while he lay at the worst he would have me constantly by his pillow: I suppose he felt I did a good deal for him, and he hadn’t wit to guess that I was compelled to do it. However, I will say this, he was the quietest child that ever nurse watched over. The difference between him and the others forced me to be less partial. Cathy and her brother harassed me terribly: he was as uncomplaining as a lamb; though hardness, not gentleness, made him give little trouble.

He got through, and the doctor affirmed it was in a great measure owing to me, and praised me for my care. I was vain of his commendations, and softened towards the being by whose means I earned them, and thus Hindley lost his last ally: still I couldn’t dote on Heathcliff, and I wondered often what my master saw to admire so much in the sullen boy; who never, to my recollection, repaid his indulgence by any sign of gratitude. He was not insolent to his benefactor, he was simply insensible; though knowing perfectly the hold he had on his heart, and conscious he had only to speak and all the house would be obliged to bend to his wishes. As an instance, I remember Mr. Earnshaw once bought a couple of colts at the parish fair, and gave the lads each one. Heathcliff took the handsomest, but it soon fell lame, and when he discovered it, he said to Hindley—

‘You must exchange horses with me: I don’t like mine; and if you won’t I shall tell your father of the three thrashings you’ve given me this week, and show him my arm, which is black to the shoulder.’ Hindley put out his tongue, and cuffed him over the ears. ‘You’d better do it at once,’ he persisted, escaping to the porch (they were in the stable): ‘you will have to: and if I speak of these blows, you’ll get them again with interest.’ ‘Off, dog!’ cried Hindley, threatening him with an iron weight used for weighing potatoes and hay. ‘Throw it,’ he replied, standing still, ‘and then I’ll tell how you boasted that you would turn me out of doors as soon as he died, and see whether he will not turn you out directly.’ Hindley threw it, hitting him on the breast, and down he fell, but staggered up immediately, breathless and white; and, had not I prevented it, he would have gone just so to the master, and got full revenge by letting his condition plead for him, intimating who had caused it. ‘Take my colt, Gipsy, then!’ said young Earnshaw. ‘And I pray that he may break your neck: take him, and he damned, you beggarly interloper! and wheedle my father out of all he has: only afterwards show him what you are, imp of Satan.—And take that, I hope he’ll kick out your brains!’

Heathcliff had gone to loose the beast, and shift it to his own stall; he was passing behind it, when Hindley finished his speech by knocking him under its feet, and without stopping to examine whether his hopes were fulfilled, ran away as fast as he could. I was surprised to witness how coolly the child gathered himself up, and went on with his intention; exchanging saddles and all, and then sitting down on a bundle of hay to overcome the qualm which the violent blow occasioned, before he entered the house. I persuaded him easily to let me lay the blame of his bruises on the horse: he minded little what tale was told since he had what he wanted. He complained so seldom, indeed, of such stirs as these, that I really thought him not vindictive: I was deceived completely, as you will hear.

I would supply more witty commentary, but this message speaks for itself much like the others.

[lex-munro]

[More Like Grand-Ish: Part 6] Reverie

OPLA ZoSan randomness continues; Sanji’s POV and speech use UK English.

A little light whump as a treat for morale.  And chiffon cake is what happens when you add oil and flavoring to angel food cake (because the low fat content of angel food actually means that it can’t hold on to flavor well).

Timeline is shortly after Alabasta, in that nebulous pre-Water-7 period that’s ripe for filler arcs.

Canon divergent/universe alterations, gay!Zoro and anything-that’s-pretty-enough!Sanji, Chopper is Done With This Terrible Patient, Zoro still hasn’t warmed up to Miss All-Sunday, ubiquitous bad language.  Recognizeable characters belong to Netflix, Oda, Jump, etc.

 ***

Reverie

  Wounds were inevitable on a pirate ship; it was why Chopper was so important.

Wounds were especially inevitable for a man who waded into battle, regardless of his skill, with weapons both fewer and of poorer quality than he was accustomed (a long and embarrassing story…Buggy would no doubt show back up with the Loguetown blades and try to challenge Zoro to a duel, or something).

The shallow slice across Zoro’s ribs was the result of a shitty substitute blade breaking when he tried to parry a blow to the throat.  The nasty stab through his foot was from the broken blade itself, and it had him half-blind with frustration (especially since that pointy-faced hag had been the one to save him from the next blow and fetch Chopper).

He had never been a good patient at the best of times, but sitting on the makeshift cot (a salvaged tabletop on the salvaged halves of a broken barrel) in Chopper’s little slapdash infirmary after the utter embarrassment of that morning put him in a contrary mood.

“No walking,” Chopper said in his scariest tone.  “None.  No weight on it at all.  Passive therapeutic motion only.  No kicking, no shoving, no standing or walking.”

Zoro grumbled.  “What about a crutch?”

Chopper’s face turned terrifying.  “You’ve shown before that you can’t be trusted with crutches, you fuckin’ fool, so just sit on your fuckin’ ass and rest, because it’s not gonna be my fault if you can never use that foot again.”

Fair point.  He’d been very bad about over-utilizing his legs right after Little Garden, and Chopper had been aghast at the long-term damage he’d then insisted on working to repair.

Zoro scowled, but didn’t argue.  A swordsman’s footing was crucial, and he’d never be the best if he lost strength or flexibility in a limb.

“You’re not leaving that bed without my permission—otherwise, I’ll put you in a diaper and drug you into a week-long coma.”

Zoro could and would suffer a lot of indignities, but that was over the line.  He’d rather be helped than helpless.  “Fine, I’ll stay in the stupid bed,” he promised.

“If you cheat…I’ll know,” Chopper said, and slipped out of the room while maintaining very threatening eye-contact.

Doctors were scary when they had a disobedient patient…

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad; he’d just sleep and meditate, reviewing the battle and his own performance in it, looking for the moment he should’ve known not to depend on the second blade that he’d scavenged from a treasure haul the week before.

Oh, shit.  Who else would be looking for a turn to scold him, though?  Chopper’s infirmary was currently located in a partition of the forward cannon room that everyone but Usopp refused to call a battery (the little reindeer had tried for the galley but been chased out at knife point, and he’d deemed the men’s cabin ‘too rowdy’), so people would be wandering past at all hours, and anybody might slip in to guilt-trip him.  Nami could get pretty mean when she was worried (as Usopp and his nearly-constant bruised shoulder could attest).  Robin should know to keep her distance, though she might turn up to mock him.  Sanji so far had been the type to dote while being depressing if Zoro got injured.  Zoro felt an ache in his stitched ribs just thinking about the crushing hugs and the crying.

Or maybe, since the wounds were from his own inattention, he’d get a third scolding instead (he harbored no hope that Nami wouldn’t hunt him down to call him five kinds of idiot).

The door opened.

Sanji stepped in with a covered tray.  “My poor, sweet man!” he cooed.  “You must be going stir-crazy at the thought of being confined to a sickbed for a week!”

Doting but happy?  Zoro did not trust that.  At all.  Sanji being doting but happy was a situation for girls.

“I’ve brought you some soup, precious,” Sanji went on, setting the tray aside and leaning down.  “Good arm only—no tearing your stitches, love.”

Bewildered, he obeyed, clinging to Sanji’s shoulders as he was moved into a sitting position with pillows supporting his torso.

“There.  Because we wouldn’t want you to incur Chopper’s wrath, would we?” Sanji said sweetly.

“You’re not pissed like he is?” Zoro asked carefully.

“You were making faces at the shitty sword all morning,” Sanji said.  “You knew it needed to go, but it’s not like we had time to replace it.  And you’re the sword expert—I’ve got no authority to tell *you* what went wrong or why.  Plus, seems like being stuck on bedrest will make you miserable enough without any nagging.”

That put a funny feeling in the pit of Zoro’s belly.  “Sorry.  For a minute, I thought you were buttering me up so you could go feral on me for…I dunno, ‘being reckless,’ or something.”

Sanji smiled.  “Yeah, well, we’d hardly be anything like we are now if you weren’t reckless.  And that’d be a shame, because I’ve never been with anyone, man or woman, longer than a week or two until you, and I’m hard-pressed to think of a time when I was happier, overall.”

Zoro stared and hoped he wasn’t blushing.  “You said you brought soup?”

Sanji laughed, and he certainly looked genuinely happy.  “Absolutely, darling.”

And when Zoro tilted his chin up, Sanji took the hint and kissed him.  (The whole time they were in Alabasta, he had completely missed every hint, and they’d had a few spats about it until Zoro said in no uncertain terms that he refused to verbally ask for a kiss every time, which had led to a discussion where Sanji finally realized he’d been extremely oblivious.)

“I’m glad you’re not in too much pain,” the blond noted as he held the bowl and let Zoro use the spoon.

“Hm?”

“You���d be yelling and complaining about unrelated shit if you were.  So at least I know it’s not too bad.”

He shrugged.  “Prob’ly hurt like hell if I moved my foot or raised that arm.”

Sanji beamed, complete with crinkled eyes.

Zoro wrinkled his nose.  “Oh my god, if you start cooing some lovesick shit, I will use my good foot to kick you.”

Sanji laughed.

“Stop it—you’re the worst.”

“I thought Miss Robin was the worst.”

“You’re becoming her rival for the title.”

The bastard cheated—he kissed Zoro again.

“Tell me about that dream again,” Zoro said, instead of pointing out just how gross and syrupy Sanji was being.

At that, Sanji’s voice turned wistful.  “Our ship was called ‘Kuina,’ and her figurehead was a woman-samurai, armoured but with her hair unbound.  Somehow, I’d learned your favourite food, and I was making it, but when I looked, the ingredients all blurred or vanished.  I’d grown a beard, though I don’t recall why.  You had a dashing scar over one eye, and sometimes prospective students would make the mistake of attacking your blind side…”

Zoro let the words wash over him as he ate his soup.  Building blocks.  A blueprint for what sounded like a wonderful life.  Find the All Blue, become the greatest swordsman, find the One Piece (in some order); get a ship with the perfect galley, get a crew to sail it who wouldn’t spend half their time offending Sanji and the other half being punished for offending him.

Sanji trailed off, just smiling in silence for a while.

Zoro dabbed self-consciously at his face.  “What?” he prompted.

“Nothin’.  Just can’t wait to grow old with you, that’s all.”

He got kicked for that.

And if Zoro was bright red and refusing to let the damn cook see his face, that was nobody’s business but his own.

“I hope you realize I don’t plan to be celibate for a week.”

Sanji clutched his chest.  “Surely you wouldn’t corrupt poor little Chopper!”

Zoro kicked him again.

~

Zoro was showing visible signs of mental strain by lunch of his third day of bedrest.  Between bedpans and boredom, he had a wild, unfocussed look to him, and he was always relieved to have visitors (even ‘the hag,’ as he termed poor Miss Robin).

So Sanji started deploying the layabouts when he had to be in the galley.  Usopp said he told stories but didn’t think Zoro was really listening; Robin said she talked about the history of warfare with him (and he pretended to be bored but was clearly fascinated); Luffy’s games and random conjecture could be heard almost anywhere on the ship (because he was especially attached to his first mate, and insisted it was his conversation that healed Zoro from the brink of death after the duel at Baratie); Nami bluntly said it was none of Sanji’s business what she talked about, boyfriend or not.

Sanji asked Chopper to teach him how to help take care of the stab wound.  The younger teen was reluctant—feet were surprisingly delicate and complicated, and the physical therapy was painful.

“I don’t think it’s good for you to have to hurt him,” Chopper said.  “Assuming you can even bring yourself to do it right, out of fear of causing pain…”

“He’s gonna get stabbed again eventually,” Sanji cajoled.  “Someday, he’ll have his own pirate ship under Admiral Luffy—or Commodore, if he likes that better—and you won’t be there, and someone will have to take care of him.”

“By the time he has his own ship, he’ll have his own doctor,” Chopper pointed out.

Sanji sighed through his nose.  “All right, look…I want to be able to do something that helps him without making him feel like an invalid.”

Chopper levelled him with a hard stare.  “He is an invalid.  That’s what you call it when somebody’s confined to a bed for their own health.”

“You’re the one who sees him most, aside from me—surely you’ve seen the emotional toll all this is taking.”

“If you mess up my hard work or chicken out, I’m not bothering to teach you more.”

“Deal.”

So Chopper showed him how to check the health of a puncture wound, how to palpate the track to check for undue swelling that might signal internal problems, how to move to limb to avoid stiffness or disadvantageous scarring while avoiding the use of the damaged muscles.  And Chopper taught him the physiological signs of pain and shock, as well.

“He can try to put a brave face on it, but the fluctuation of pulse and temperature are good indicators that his body’s producing the chemicals triggered by a certain degree of subjective pain.  There are a lot of nerves in the human foot—that’s how you can do all that fancy footwork.  His threshold is impressive, but this is a catastrophic injury, so it’s going to hurt.”

“I’m literally right here,” Zoro grumbled.

“Shut up like a good teaching dummy,” Chopper ordered.

“What happened to the sweet little guy who blushed when Nami called him a hero?”

“He got used to how stupid you are and how unlikely you are to do as you’re told when he tried the sweet bedside manner!” was the grumpy retort.  “All right, Sanji—try the mobility exercise.”

And it turned out that he was good at it, because Zoro would sit perfectly still, enthralled by Sanji’s touch and more stories of his ideal restaurant.

“I didn’t mean to fall in love with you, you know,” Zoro said on the fifth day, while Sanji was moving all the fiddly little bones near the ankle.

Sanji glanced up past the curtain of his hair.  “Oh yeah?”

“Mm.  Figured I’d sleep with you till you got bored and we’d just be…I dunno, rivals or something.  Sparring partners.”

Sanji grinned.  “Well, I never meant to fall in love with you, either.”

Zoro looked positively enchanted by that answer.  He gave one of his tiny little smug smiles.

“The sex is great,” Sanji admitted, “but it’s your…resolve, I guess.  That’s the part that drew me in more.  And then, suddenly, all the little things made me long to get used to you:  to know your sleeping face, and your favourite food, and whether you liked sunrises or sunsets best.”

“What would the staple dishes be?” Zoro asked, possibly proud of remembering the phrase.  “For your restaurant on our ship?”

“Hm…I think a nice miso soup, a salad with a tangerine vinaigrette, broiled salmon with creamy spring potatoes, and some kind of chiffon cake.”

“What’s chiffon cake?”

“I’ll preface this by saying it doesn’t have to be very sweet…but it’s the smoothest, fluffiest cake you can make and still have a strong flavour.  If you could turn the soft, tender chewiness of mochi into cake, that’s chiffon cake.”

“Sounds nice,” Zoro mumbled, and when Sanji looked up again, he was asleep.

~

Getting his stitches removed wasn’t great, but it was a signal that Chopper thought Zoro might be ready to move around.

“You’re not sleeping on the floor,” Chopper said firmly.  “None of your foolishly random napping.  You can sleep in a hammock, or you can sleep in the infirmary.  And no climbing the mast to sleep in the crow’s nest, either!”

Zoro scowled.

“Discomfort is expected, but sharp pain means something is wrong,” Chopper finished, holding out a crutch.  “If you try to put weight on it and it feels weak, ease off.  I know you heal quickly, but feet can be tricky.”

His first stop was the galley, where Sanji was cleaning whatever mysterious fish Usopp and Luffy had caught that morning.

“Up and about already, sweetheart?” Sanji said without looking up from guts and scales.

“Can I help?” Zoro wondered (a little desperately).

Sanji smiled.  “You precious thing—so tired of being stuck in bed you’ll even come do busy work.  All right, if you’ll sit and give your foot a little rest, you can finish raking the scales off this absolute beast the captain reeled in.”

So he slid onto the bench and waited while Sanji laid out a canvas tablecloth before depositing a monstrous forty-pound thing that might have been some kind of snapper or bonito.

“Don’t worry bout being tidy with it,” Sanji advised as he set down the scale rake.  “Just try to be thorough, since they’ll spoil the texture of the crispy skin.  I’ll make stock of it later.”

“Hey, waiter,” Zoro said as Sanji started to turn away.  He raised his chin.

“You make your demands known like a cat,” Sanji teased, but kissed him.  “It’s adorable.”

Zoro ignored the remark.  “Tell me more about chiffon cake.”

Laughing, Sanji leaned in and kissed him more thoroughly.  “I love you so, you bloody barbaric cabbage.”

  .End.

[quilveor]

It's 4 AM, I had to do half of it twice because MS Paint betrayed me and I didn't notice, but I am SO incredibly proud of this.

Quick, my aarakocra cleric struck by wanderlust, often writes in notebooks and does small sketches. He's not an artist, but he likes it. So I figured, the best way to have his short story would be in a diary form.

There's a lot of character lore included, but I'll keep it brief [I want to sleep.]. Quyeekrraouhsh/Quick is very friendly albeit haven't seen his family in a while. Gwynddu, an albino black dragonborn warlock under Tiamat, is his boyfriend. Duke is a hedonistic kobold rogue, Kenku is a wizard/bard who sings by illusions, and Korek is an insane kobold bard. Jalan'lham is a lizardfolk ranger obsessed with fishes and not a part of the team. Skweerk is not a character, I made her up JUST for this.

It's getting bright.

This was an insane thing to do, making everything just so manual, even though you can clearly tell it was just a computer font [Ink Free, with a guest visit by Segoe Script]

And for people who can't view images, the entire transcript: [Every time [Kenku] appears, it's a drawing of a kenku [crow] head.]

Dear diary I am in such a good mood! I haven't been writing in a while but -t- there was just no time! We just left this big city, [very big] [Baldur's Gate -> [map of region]] heading northways, but omigosh it's SO COOL. There's SO MANY PEOPLE. I didn't meet any Baldur though… There was one dog named that though! [though though though] Very cute doggo. [Doggy.] [Doggerino.] I got to pet it!

Also I think Gwynddu is happier we left. He seemed so tired lately, ,some peace will do him well. He's been tossing and turning last few days, but he says it's "fine". [Sure.] He always has so much to think about. Can you BELIEVE I saw him in the [Pictures of Bahamut and Tiamat] temple of Bahamut?!‽ He went there few days ago to meditate in silence and, to be fair, it was pretty quiet there, but it's still so surprising! [on hush hush he was like 'me and the priest made a pact of non-aggression' and that's just the cutest thing ever] Anyway! So! SO! Today, right, I wake up, Gwynddu wakes up, Duke wakes up, Korek and [Kenku] too, we leave the tavern saying good byes, everyone in GREAT mood honestly except Gwynddu but that's normal for the grump <3 [he's so cute i swear] [the owner wanted us to stay because apparently they really liked [Kenku] singing but we gotta keep moving!!] ANYWAY so we leave, go to the gates [of Baldur Gate [haha]] and there was another aarakocra! Can you imagine that! I haven't seen one in so long! Apparently there's a city in Chult, but it's a bit of a travel there. I already already wrote to check it out later in a different notebook but I [picture of T-Rex] ABSOLUTELY have to go there. Skweerk was really lovely though, it was so nice chatting with her. -> [picture of Skweerk] She was in the city to get some -unusa- unusual materials that usually don't go to Chult! I guess it's harder if you live on an island. I think it's an island. [How big is Chult, anyway.] [I know it has like, [at least] [two cities.]] And a jungle! And those bizarre creatures called dir dinosaurs! -> [towards the T-Rex picture] And temples and tigers and AAAAAA i want to go there so badly! [just on description from Skweerk] [friend] We do need to first go to Daggerford. It's a bit -aft- before Water-deep, and so it's gonna be a few days at least, but we got a letter saying a friend's gonna be staying there and we DEFINITELY -gonna be- have to be there. Jalan'lham!!! Maybe FINALLY he will teach me fishing! He promised!! i wanna catch a fish he does it so -easy- easily [it's probably not actually that easy!] So I think the plan is, Daggerford -> Waterdeep -> [maybe?] Chult so that is probably it for today! [oh but shhhhh i see [Kenku] and Duke sneaking out. Both are far more nocturnal so I bet they're gonna just stay up until very late again. I don't think they know I know but I heard Duke getting some singing lessons from [Kenku] once when I woke up in the middle of night.] [But,] yeah! Gwynddu's getting ready to sleep, I should join him soon. [And where's Korek oh he's already out [okay]] imma go join them then. Until next time! Quyeekrraouhsh

[datoneboardedguy]

Avatar: Legend of Korra Fanfiction - Korra x OC Male Reader.

(DISCLAIMER’S: I DON’T OWN THE LEGEND OF KORRA IP OR IT’S CHARACTERS! & THIS IS A NON CANON FANFICTION THAT ISN’T CONSTRAINED BY THE LIMITATIONS OF THE OFFICIAL AVATAR LOK CANON & ANY ATTEMPT’S TO SILENCE THIS FANFIC IS A BLATANT VIOLATION OF MY FREE SPEECH RIGHT’S!)

Book: 2 Chapter: 1 Meltingpoint Raid!

Three years later-

White Lotus Guard POV:

“Every action also has an equal & opposite reaction, Varrick’s Third Law.” My instructor says as he’s giving me tour of the prison & I replied with a simple “ uh hm.” answer as he continues as we’re on our way to check on the prisoner “if you want take a break i break your legs by Earthbending rock spikes through your knees! Action, Reaction.” I sigh “I get it, no breaks!” “THAT’S RIGHT, NO BREAKS! & you know why?!” “Because if you give breaks nobody will be here to listen to your long winded speeches?” “NO!.. It’s our job’s to keep our prisoner locked up at all times!” As we arrive at the giant prisoner cell door I curiously ask “What could this prisoner have possibly done to warrant us never taking any breaks?” “Well ’AS YOU KNOW!..”- “Actually I don’t know, that’s why you’re telling me.” -“DO NOT INTERRUPT YOUR SUPERIOR WHEN HE’S MONOLOGUING!” Sighs “Yes sir, sorry sir.” “AND DO YOU SIGH WHEN YOU RELUCTANTLY KISS MY A!”- “YES, SIR!” “THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO HEAR! Now, where was I? Ah yes, the prisoner’s committed horrific crimes. He’s murdered several World Leaders, assaulted & murdered dozens of innocent gua!-” As he finally finished his monologue he noticed that I dozed off to sleep & just sighed “Sometimes I wonder why I even bother. WAKE UP YA FLATWORM-MAGGOT!” “WHA-W-WHAT! So what were you saying? Sorry I must’ve of dozed off..” “Ugh I was saying..”- *DING!* “What the?”- *BOOOOOOM!* *BOOOOOOOOOM!* *BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!…*

Everything’s hazy & my ears are ringing. I start to regain my sight as see that everyone’s else is dead on the floor & I see a hooded slender looking phantom slicing up my new recruit.

(Author note: sorry for the bad quality drawing, it been drawn on a smartphone.. ☹️)

Third Person POV:

The phantom then walks over to & opens the giant prison cell door, the prisoner asks the intruder “You’re interrupting my meditation?..” then the mysterious phantom breaks the prisoner’s chained restraints & asks the prisoner “Early Parole.-“ The surviving White Lotus Guard interrupted the phantom by shouting “NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!” As he makes a move to try & earthbend the prisoner slices the guard’s head clean off with his chains, spraying out tons of blood all over the phantoms suit he quickly wipes the fresh blood off of his face as resumes to ask the prisoner “So.. you interested?..” then the prisoner steps out of dark cell to reveal it’s Zaheer & simply replies “I’m In.”

Korra’s POV:

“I can’t do this, it’s too much!” Ikki says “Don’t give up!” Then Jinora says “You can go on, I believe in you Korra!” I close my eyes & try to eat another final few mini cabbage balls in my bowl before my opponent finishes his, as I eat the first one Meelo quickly shouts “REMEMBER, BE THE CABBAGE BALL KORRA!” I nearly vomited all 19 of them straight back out after hearing that but I managed to swallow them all down & proceeded to eat the next one as my opponent just eats his second last cabbage ball, then I eat the final cabbage ball I struggled at first but barely managed to swallow it down then my opponent attempted to eat his while he had managed to eat his final cabbage ball at first he ultimately fails to actually swallow it & he vomits all 21 of his cabbage balls onto the floor. Then the announcer blows his whistle & says “& OUR VERY OWN AVATAR TAKES & CLAIMS THE TITLE CABBAGE BALL CHAMPION & IS THE WINNER OF THE CABBAGE CHARITY FESTIVAL THAT HAS BEEN GRACIOUSLY SPONSORED BY BOTH CABBAGE CORP & SATO INDUSTRIES! NOW GIVE A ROUND OF A APPLAUSE FOR A NEW CHAMPION EVERYBODY!..” & everyone starts to clap & cheer.

I then wave to the crowd as I made my way through the upper level of the main foyer, then when once I was out of sight I covered my mouth & started running through several corridors accidentally bumping & pushing over several Cabbage Corp staff in a race against the clock until I reached the back entrance to the building & rushing through the back garden to a secluded cliff side balcony to finally vomit up all 21 cabbage balls over the ledge of the balcony, as I finished & started feeling better I hear a familiar voice “Great job holding your cabbage balls Korra, I couldn’t even make it past ten Cabbage Balls.” I turn around to see none other than Tenzin is the one who just said that, my widened as I say “Tenzin the Airbending master has got ..jokes?!” Tenzin chuckles as he remarks “Contrary to popular belief I do have my fun side, if you consider swallowing Cabbage Balls for charity fun?..” he said with a snickering smirk. I roll my eyes at his immaturity then say “Your kids have changed you, you never used to not be an uptight stick in the mud.” “WHAT’S THIS ABOUT ME BEING A STICK IN THE MUD?!” He fumingly shouted as his face turned dark red “..& THERE’S THE TENZIN THAT WE KNOW & LOVE!” Then we both laughed.

Then his family arrives & the all kids scream “KORRA!” Simultaneously as they tackled me into a huge group hug. Then Meelo soils the mood as he says “See, I TOLD YOU that you can be Cabbage Balls!” Then my stomach churns & I immediately rush over to ledge of the balcony to vomit again, once I was finished I turned around to see everyone else giving Meelo the look as Ikki punches his shoulder & just says “Really, ..soo not cool bro!” Meelo shrugged as he confusingly says “What?!..” Pema then says “Congratulations Korra, you actually beat Tenzin’s record.” “Thanks Pema, I really do appreciate your.”- I then see a certain familiar smirking brunette woman standing behind them & i excuse myself from the group to follow her as she approaches the nearest corridor corner she slides her hand along the corridor wall as looks back & winks at me with her devious smile she playfully rushes to the nearest secluded storage room as I followed her I mumbled under my breath “hm, She always did love a chase..” then playfully give chase follow her to the Storage Room & as we enter Asami locks the door behind us & we started deeply passionately kissing each other until she recoiled back sarcastically saying “Ugh Cabbage balls Breath!” I jokingly said “You want some more leftovers?!” & I put my cabbage coated tongue out show her as she predictably retorts in playful disgust “EEWWW YOU DISGUSTING MONSTER!” We both then just laughed then Asami asked seriously “Nah but seriously, are you feeling alright after swallowing all of those?”- “Don’t you dare finish that sentence & I’ll be just fine okay?” “Uh Sure Korra, I hope you’re still hungry enough for our weekly dinner date?” “Oh you bet babe, just as long as it’s a smaller meal this time for obvious reasons..” “Of course.” She said with a smile & a small giggle. “Have I ever told you how adorable your giggles are?” “Heh, Definitely not enough times. Let’s go..”

As we exited the storage room we a familiar voice remark “You know you guys are being way too literal with the whole Coming Out of the Closet thing when you both are literally exiting out of an actual closet together?” We both giggled as we hugged both Mako & Bolin & happily greeted them “Hey you two it’s been too long!” “Yeah we’ve been wondering what you guys have been up to the past few years..” “You know what we’ve been doing.” Mako said “I know but that’s just work, what have you guy’s been up to outside of work?” “Oh well I don’t have anything really going on, just work I guess.” “You know it’s unhealthy to spend all of your time working?..” “Yeah I know, but when there’s always someone in need I have to help..” “what about you Bolin? Have you & Opal been thinking about finally tying the knot yet?” “Oh, uhh..”- *BOOOM!…* everyone tumbles over “Is everyone okay?!” Mako asked then both Bolin & Asami nodded as I said while also nodding “Yes Mako, we’re fine.” I then quietly checked with Asami “Are you alright?” “I’m alright Korra.” “Good.” Then an Alarm goes off throughout the building, a intercom message starts playing which is oddly narrated by the Pro Bending narrator (“This is an Emergency Cabbage Corp announcement Cabbage Corp is 100% under the attack! I repeat Cabbage Corp is 100% under the attack! Could everyone please safely evacuate the building before I piss my pants again! This is NOT a drill! THIS is a drill!” *Jackhammer Noises**STATIC*) Bolin quickly remarks “Hey where’d he go? I was about to go get the popcorn!” Asami confusingly remarks “Not the time Bolin!” “Oh come on you can’t say that listening to that guy’s voice doesn’t want to make you sit back, kick your legs up & just eat some popcorn?!” “You can’t be seriously be?!- Yeah okay, me too.” then I tell them “Focus guys, we need to get the civilians out of here before someone gets hurt. I’ll go check on Tenzin & his family to see if they’re all okay, I’ll meet you all at the main hall!” I quickly pecks Asami on her lips as she tells me “Be carful Korra.” “No worries darling.” Then run off.

I then arrived back to where Tenzin’s family was before the explosion to check on them as I arrived I see chief Beifong is with them & I concerningly asked “Is everyone alright?!” “We’re all fine Korra, but we all have bigger problems.” “What’s happening?” Beifong explains “It’s Tokuga, he’s returned & is attacking the building.” “Okay, get get everyone out of here & we’ll handle it.” “Got it, you all heard the Avatar. Let’s go!”

Tokuga’s POV:

“How long do we have before we’re in the Vault?!” “Just a few minutes sir!” “Good, everyone else kill everyone who tries to reach us!” a Sarge looking fellow replied “YA GOT IT CHEIF! ALRIGHT YA NANCIES, YA HEARD THE MAN NOW LET’S HUSTLE ON THE DOUBLE!” Then everyone got into their positions ready for a fight.

Third POV:

The room was quiet, too quiet then the barricaded double doors burst open with a lot of smoke filled the area then as the dust clears there’s the Avatar standing in the middle of the doorway cracking her knuckles. As she says “Alright fellas, who’s first?” soldiers then shout “OPEN FIRE!” She then Earthbended up a rock barricaded in front of herself, then metalbends the bullets lodged into the barricade right back into their guns causing them to explode in the soldiers hands *BOOMS* “ARRGH!” She then airbends them all back away from the door causing them the runaway back into the foyer towards the Vault screaming “RUUUN!” “AH OH SPIRITS!” “I DON’T WANNA DIE!” Asami, Bolin & Mako all run in to meet Korra & tell her “Everyone’s out, it’s just us & them..” Korra simply said “Good.” Bolin shouts “THIS IS GONNA BE FUN! TEAM AVATAR BACK AT IT AGAIN!” Then Team Avatar heroically changes into the army of mercenaries & attacks in unison.

Then a wave of pure WATER, EARTH, FIRE, AIR all sweep through the foyer area. The soldiers started getting cat & mouse chased all throughout the room with a few soldiers hiding behind a wall puffed out as the sarge says “Come on guys let’s keep moving on double or in this case on the Quadruple!” “I think we should fight, otherwise they’ll just start picking us all off on by.-“ *CRASH* & a metal bended improvised glove tears through the wall & grabs the talking soldier by the neck plate as he shouts “ONE!..” then is pulled into the wall disorienting him before the whole wall is sent flying into him pushing him into the opposite wall then Avatar Korra water whips another soldiers left leg pulling him into the air sending him flying into the downed soldier knocking them both out, as the sarge cocks his soo called shotgun Bolin Earthbend his feet into tripping him over causing him to miss at point blank range then he Earthbended to coat the bottom of his boots & sidekicks Sarge square in the head, sending him into the wall a sniper rifle soldier tries and fails to shoot Bolin from a far not realising that Korra metalbended the bullets out of the way then argratingly shouted “Son of a rotten Spirit! Why can’t I even hit anything with this stupid faulty Sniper-rifle?!” The Sniper narrowly dodges a blast of fire to the face as Mako jumps & lands right in front of him & retorts “It’s not the tool, it’s the man!” Then shoots a fireball at him, he ducks out of the way then flicks a switch on his rifle then his Weapon starts charging up with electricity as he starts minalikly  laughing as he pulls the trigger Makos eyes widened then as the rifle fires a blast of pure electricity he manages lightning bend & redirect it at the soldier blasting him outside of the building then more guards started showing up shooting at him & on instinct he quickly moves arms in a figure eight motion & as the tips of his two index fingers on both of his hands connected he conquered up a translucent energy shield that inveterated every bullet that flew through his shield, he & all of the soldiers goes wide eyed at this spectacle they just witnessed then as he felt a charge buildup from each bullet that he incinerated he just reversed the figure eight & punches the shield forward into the soldiers stunning then all “Holy spirits, I WANNA DO THAT AGAIN!” Then more soldiers show up to get their asses handed to them, a guard is knocked off the catwalk & down to the ground landing on & knocking out a soldier who had Asmami at gunpoint & dead to rights then shocks a soldier’s rifle behind her causing the rifle to conduct electricity & blows up the gunpowder inside of it in the soldiers face uses the electrified rifle barrel as an improvised stun baton beating up every soldier she came across then sent a electrified stunned soldier towards Korra & she Airbended him in a concrete road block landing balls first into it cracking the area with his not so thick layered groin pad as he painfully stutters “W-wh-Why d-didn’t you just k-kill me?!..” as he falls to the ground unconscious.

Tenzin’s POV:

“Alright everyone is safely evacuated, we have to-“ *BOOM!* we see person shoots out the side of building into the side alleyway next to the building then Rohan just started charging off after them Pema Shouts in terror “NOO.. HUN, COME BACK!” “NO ROHAN, GET BACK HERE! I started chasing after him before he gets himself hurt..

Third POV:

Back inside the building the fighting intensifies & some of the soldiers started to panicking “Oh my Spirits, oh my spirits, oh my spirits! Oh sweet A RIFLE!”- “Hey uhh, I hate to say this but that’s my rifle.” “WHAT?! There’s literally hundreds of rifles on the floor, just pick up any rifle.” “But i bring that rifle with me everywhere I go, I sleep with that rifle in my arms every night!” ��Dude, it doesn’t matter just pick up another rifle!”- *WHIP* “ARRGH!..” he shouted as he was water whipped into his friend who he was bickering with by Korra then she turned to the lonely soldier with only a small firearm & he drops it saying “Oh screw this I need to get a bigger weapon!” & turns to run while barely dodging the armada of waterbending attacks. As he turns the corner he runs into another soldier who just escaped from the rampaging Asami mowing down everyone else as he asks “What in spirits do we do?!” “I don’t know, I’ve never seen soo many powerful benders in one room before!-“ he looks at his comrades energy weapon & asks “Wait do you know how to use that thing?!” “My Energy Sword? F%CK yeah I know what it is, what’s wrong with just swish, swish, stab? It’s a energy sword dude it’s not a frickin SATO Fighter Plane!” “Just come on over & help me!”

Asami’s POV:

The soldiers were being completely beaten by all four of us a fireball nearly hit us to get our attention, we turned to the source & see a Fire bending soldier grab a small device from his belt then suddenly lightning bends to charg it up with electricity revealing it as an energy sword & shouted to us “HEY SWEET CHEEKS REMEMBER ME?! STEP AWAY FROM THE IDOT’S” As Korra goes to attack I stopped & sternly said “No Hun, he’s mine!” Which made Korra’s eyes widen as she cautiously stepped back to watch what’s about to unfold. Then the two of us circle each other then we started exchanging blows between his energy sword & my new stun baton then we started locking weapons then he tried taunting me “What’s this pussy baton sissy crap?! where’s your energy sword? Having trouble getting it up? Don’t worry it happens to everyone.” “Ugh, don’t you ever just SHUT UP!” I then frustratingly break the clash by kicking him straight up into his nuts “Ow! Son of a Bitch!..” then I headbut his face & spin kick him in the gut sending him back a few feet then he slips & falls backwards into pallet of barrels of black paint as he gets up he then realises he’s now covered in black paint “Ugh, what in spirits is this Black Stuff anyways?!” “Trust me, it’s an improvement.” I retorted he then gets real mad as he says “Alright that’s it, come here!” Then as they were about to charge at each other a massive metal crate container fell right between the two then they heard another not so bright soldier from the catwalk above shout “YES, I SAVED MY FRIEND! Oh wait, I saved my friend..” “Hey what gives you idiot?! I was meant to distract the SATO chick so Jeff Could kill the rest of the Benders take so we can take her hostage!” & we all turned around to see a soldier with some kind of shoulder mounted weapon frantically trying to load it up while shouting in a panic “YOU JUST RATTED ME OUT YOU SON OF A BITCH!” Then as he finally manages to fire it he shoots out a literal small Rocket Propelled Grenade at us! Which Mako then jumps in the air to quickly firebend the rocket flames to redirect & orbit the rock around him & right towards the soldier that just shot it in the span of a couple of seconds then as the rocket is about to hit the soldier he shouts “OH SPIRITS!”- then the rocket blows up the platform right below him, sending him flying into the air towards Team Avatar where Korra then metalbends her grapple around his legs he shouts “OH SPIRITS!” again & she swings him right towards Bolin who punches him towards the energy sword bending soldier with a Earthbending coated fist & as he smashes into the energy sword soldier couldn’t help himself from shouting “THAT WAS AWESOME!”- *SMASH!* “URGH!”

Soldiers POV:

We’re now closing in on the Avatar’s location & meddlesome band of friends then the catwalk above us comes tumbling down into the area in front of us creating a huge dust cloud. The dust clouds created from the collapsed catwalk rubble blurred all of our visions as we arrived we see a blurry black figure sluggishly trying to stand up then the figure turns towards us & says “Oh, it’s you guys..” we can’t tell if they’re friendly or not & at point we don’t care then max says “There’s the Avatar, get ‘em!” “We then hear them shouting “WHAT?!” our of pure confusion, then me & max start beating them up & we’re winning?! As they’re cowering & not trying to fight back & this person is trying to tell us something but it’s while as me & max are also shouting random stuff at them like “take that!, this isn’t as hard as I thought, yeah suck it blue eyed bitch!” We also heard some one from our team snickering & laughing at the spectacle in front of them. Then Jeff gets up & tells us “Hey, hold on a minute guy’s!” I back off but Max then gets this supposed Avatar into a headlock then starts repeatedly punching them top of their head as Jeff shouts at us stop “Max! Stop!” “Why?!” “I think that’s Alex not the AVATAR!” Then Alex managed to mumble out “See.., eye tol’ you guy’s same team!” Max then punches him one last time while confusingly looking at Jeff try to process what just happened which knocks him out of the headlock “Ow what was that for you idiot?!” “Eh sorry, force of habit!” Then Alex frustratingly shouted “WHAT THE F#CK JEFF?! You sit there & watch me get pounded by these two idots?!” “What? no! I was knocked out until after they started double teaming you!” “Wait than who’s snickering & laughing at me?!” Then a shadow figure next to me eyes lit up & I said “Oh son of a bit!”- *KICK!* “OW MY NUTS!” & a few other silhouette’s attacked us revealing themselves to be Team Avatar, knocking us out of the smoke cloud & against the wall & while the dust cloud was finally starting to clear up we all started to stand up & get our footing then Max says “Ugh She’s kicking our asses fellas, & yet I’ve never hit a girl at all in my life!” & I said “Yeah we noticed, You should try harder!” Then the smoke finally cleared up revealing Team Avatar & they started walking towards us “Oh no, here she comes again!..” I said in a panic & I frantically grabbed whatever i could find as a weapon which unfortunately for me was a Traffic Cone. “Screw it, desperate times call for desperate measures!..” then we charged into battle..

Tokuga’s POV:

“What’s your status?!” I asked the vault driller “We’re in!” “Good! Extract the Artifacts & prototypes, I’ll keep them busy & take them down a peg or two..” a shadowy figure said hidden behind the both of them in the catwalks then he sees the fly off as he sinisterly smirks.

Bolin’s POV:

The last soldier was on the ground defenceless screaming “PROTECT ME CONE!” As Korra kicked him the nuts soo hard that he went flying back several feet away into the wall knocking him out *KICK!* *SMASH!* “Damn that poor souls doesn’t even have anything left!” Mako comments “Yeah even I felt that one from here..” As we finish off the last of guards a shadow started looming over the entire room then a shadow man lands in front of us with a black hooded shadow leather, red lined costume & I confusingly asked “..& who are you supposed to be?!” & he just says with distorted reverby voice “I am..-“

“PHANTOM BISON!”

& simply say “WHAT THE F%CK IS WITH THIS GUY?!” Then he suddenly shoots out two grapple ropes that seemingly created a whole bunch more of this mad man & as they started charging at us everything’s suddenly enveloped in endless darkness. We all cautiously stood up against each other back to back to avoid being separated then multiple Phantom Bison’s emerged from the darkness & swarmed us we tried fending them off as long as we could but soon enough they quickly started overwhelming us then as everything felt hopeless I get an idea & Lavabended a wave of lava then Earth bended myself a stone surfboard & rode the title wave of pure Magma Awesomeness & shouted “SURFS UP! Follow me everyone!” Then Mako shoot’s himself forward into the air using his firebending fists to basically fly while Korra air shooters herself along the wall with Asami holding onto her for dear life & suddenly the Phantom Bison’s glowing blue eyes widened as the tide was literally turning against him then he quickly grappled himself away & sharply turned around as his shadow duplicates were being engulfed by the lava tidal wave he then shouts “WHAT THE F%CKS WITH THIS GUY?!..” as he’s desbratly trying to escape the lava tidal wave. Then he suddenly gets a massive speed boost out of nowhere escaping the lava wave as wave finally dies down & losses it’s momentum which causes my stone surfboard to crumble apart I managed to leap off at the last possible second managed to stick the landing, everyone else quickly followed suit & all landed right next to me with their own badass posses. He retreats behind another wave soldiers who looked just as unprepared & incompetent as last group of soldiers, then he closes the blast doors behind them locking them out with us, one of them looks up & shouts up to the Catwalk while shouting “HEY ASSHOLE! REMEMBER WHEN WE SAID NOT TO HELP US?! FORGET THAT WE NEED HELP US! RIGHT NOW!” Then a metal shipping container drops from the crane above us then it seemingly squishes us since everything goes dark then we hear the soldiers prematurely celebrating shouting “MY SPIRITS, I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT WORKED!” Then a pair glowing eyes appear & suddenly everything lights up again revealing the Korra’s in the Avatar state to catch & lift the shipping container up revealing the massive crater that was caused by Korra’s sheer iron will to catch that container which caused the metal flooring to cave in under the pressure & when the soldiers saw that container moving up the soldier immediately says “OH CRAP, THAT DIDN’T WORK!” Then comment “I totally knew it wouldn’t work. I don’t know if you bad guys are aware but Avatar Korra’s a bit of a Badass!” Then once they see Korra climb up out of the Crater while still casually lifting a shipping container & stares down into the soldiers eyes staring into their souls the soldiers relent & say in a blind panic “ARE YOU F#CKING KIDDING ME?! RUUN!..” & as those poor soldiers desperately tried to escape their fates Korra throws the large shipping container directly at the soldiers & into the barricaded door completely destroying the blast door.

As the door blasts open Phantom Bison is waiting for us & immediately grapple whips at Korra which was a bad idea since in the Avatar State Korra instantly catches the grapple with her right hand & effortlessly yanks him towards herself to finish him off with her mean left hook to his face, as she’s moving her fist towards his face he does the same as he’s approaching Korra. Then as their fists make contact with each other’s faces there’s suddenly a blinding bright flash of light that comes out of nowhere.

Korra’s POV:

After a sudden blinding bright white light flashes in my face I’m suddenly seeing this horrible image of a seemingly war torn street completely completely engulfed in flames with an ember filled smog floating all around me obstructing my vision, I feel my body’s covered in dirt, soot which is burning into my open wounds, then as the ember smog finally clears I see the entire street floor covered in bodies, Men, Women, Children, Entire Families all dead. I then look down to my feet & see a dead Red Lotus Commander with his throat slit wide open gushing out blood down his lifeless body, I feel myself holding something in my left hand I looked at my hands & see their completely covered in blood with a bloodied Grapple blade resting in the palm of my hand. I then heard several Satomobile engines closing in the distance, I then started to panic, dropped the grapple blade onto the dead body below me & couldn’t think of anything else to do other than just make a run for it. Then as I started making a break for it my ankle gets snared by the same grapple blade I just dropped tripping me over to the ground with a loud earth shattering *THUD!* I rolled over onto my back & as I sit up I see Red Lotus Corpse rising up onto his feet then the grapple starts to pulling me towards the standing Red Lotus Corpse I started to frantically try to get the grapple rope off of my leg but all of my efforts were in vain as the grapple finished dragging me towards the corpse it turns towards me reveal a face I’ve never seen before but is still feels somewhat familiar with block void where his eyes should be. His soulless gaze sends waves of shivering dred as he says with the same demonic voice as Phantom Bison’s voice. “You did this to me!” He says as black smoke emanates from his bloodied clenched fists as he raises them up to show me then proceeded to say “YOU DID THIS TO ME! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOOOU! ABANDONED!.. ME!…” The void that filled his eyes streaks down his cheeks & as they reached the bottom of his chin the void spreads across & covers his entire face & in a flash of inverted brightness he turned into Phantom Bison his illuminated eyes creates a blinding *FLASH!* & suddenly for a brief second I see my child self laughing & smiling from another child’s perspective smiling then in a another *FLASH!* I wake up in a cold sweat.

I’m trying & failing to get back up onto my feet as I see everyone else seemingly to be knocked out cold then I see the Phantom Bison barely standing while he’s walking over towards me with Grapple Blades in hand as he says “Alright- Avatar ..You & you’re ‘Team Avatar’ friends have all had your fun.”- I then see his metal cable launcher’s so I tried to metalbend them to stop him but ‘nothing happens’ this makes me realise that it’s pure platinum & thought ‘I-i can’t stop him! Who’s this guy?!” as my eyes widen at this horrifying revelation Phantom Bison takes a deep breath then proceeds to say *Deep breaths* “But this parties over.” He says as he winds his arm back for one final swing I then think quickly as he’s attempting to finish me off. I quickly Earthbended up a small stone wall between us to block it at the last possible second then push my arms forward & pushed him back a few feet with the said stone wall..

Then Bolin wakes up & & starts hurling Lava throwing stars at him he’s able to send him back a moment longer before Phantom Bison takes a deep breath, Bolin throws his next Lava Throwing Star, then he seemingly catches & redirects it directly back towards Bolin?! He thankfully is able to block it with some earthbending but the collision creates a small explosion sending Bolin back into the wall knocking him out on impact I attempted to push him back with airbending then I’m suddenly forced onto the ground with a sudden giant gust of wind without being able to move I looked up to see what’s causing this only to see someone from the roof catwalks seemingly flying down towards us then as they got closer I realised who’s approaching & I shouted in a raspy voice in terror“N-No!.. It can’t be?!” & see that it’s none other than ZAHEER himself slowly descending towards the ground.

I heard a familiar voice that isn’t Zaheer to my right say “Hello there Avatar Korra, how’s your wonderful family?!” I turn to see who said that & it’s the man who started this attack Tokuga himself staring at me with his ugly mutatedly grotesque sinister grin & he turns to look at Zaheer & says “Took you long enough, how hard is it to shave off both a whole head of hair & a full beard?” “I don’t need to explain how important recon work is.” “Well then don’t keep us suspense, we got what we came for now is it finally clear to evaluate?” “Of course, now what are we going to do about her? Being the major threat that she is we can’t just let her go..” “If we take her hostage we won’t be able to hold her for long & if we take her lover she’ll tear our whole empire down.” “Then we take her smart mouth friend.” Phantom Bison said which prompted Tokuga to say “The Cop Man will be a problematic hostage to keep in line.” “I’m not talking about him.” Phantom Bison says as he & new friends are all giving me a knowing sinister smirk that sends shivers down my spine.

As Tokuga snake arm grabs & picks up Unconscious Bolin I’m desperately trying to get up & trying to stop them while shouting “NO! S-STOP! STAY AWAY FROM HIM!” only for Zaheer to increase his power keeping me stuck to the ground completely unable to move. Then Phantom Bison walks up to me hits me with the handle of his grapple blade while remarking “Lights Out Avatar.” *WHACK!*

Tenzin’s POV:

As I finally catch up to Rohan I say “There you are Rohan, we have to get outta here!”- then I hear grunting noise from the rubble just ahead of us then I see massive hole in the side wall of the now burning Cabbage Corp building, as I look back at pile of rubble I see a Red Lotus Soldier sluggishly emerging from said rubble. Then he sees us then for the next few seconds we’re staring at each other like a Cheeta-Stag caught in headlights, then he makes the first move & starts to firebends several fireballs towards Rohan, I block them just in time & counter airbended him with small spheres of concentrated air towards him. He blocks a few of them with fireballs but the spheres he didn’t manage to block I made them orbit & continuously spinning around him turning into a dust devil. He tries to firebend but can’t conquer up any flames or even a single spark, then I smirk & make a snarky remark “Having performance issues?!” & I speed up the Dust Devil’s rotation drastically causing him to lose his ability to breathe then he starts flying upwards until he’s a few stories high in the air then I airbend a strong down draft slamming him straight down into the ground in hopes of knocking him out. As I hesitantly approached he shoots out a small bolt of lightning at me I try & failed to block it & I was hit square in the chest sending me back into the factory wall. Then he gets up while sinisterly remarking “Did you forgot old timer that Lightning ..always cuts through air!..” Then as starts to lightning bend a glass bottle hits & shatters into pieces as it impacts him in the back of his head causing him to miss his shot of lightning he tried to finish me off with.

He turns around & looks towards the direction it came from only to see a rolled up poo filled diaper ball get thrown square in the face. He instantly started vomiting the poor guy *EXESSESIVE VOMITING!* “UGH.. CRAP!” then once he regains his barings he sees the person who did it is none other than my son Rohan who’s now in stitches very loudly laughing at him, not wearing any pants & has just thrown his diaper at this Firebending psycho making him look embarrassed for a moment making me laugh a little. He then yells in aggression “YOU’RE A DEAD LITTLE RUNT!”- I then tried to stop him but he kicks in the stomach sending me back into the wall & he just started punching me in the face & kicking my stomach while I’m down & as he’s about stomp onto my face to finish me off I heard a heard Rohan scream “NOOOOOAAAR!..” *WHOOSH!..* the Sh#t Faced Red Lotus Soldier is flying straight through the pile of rubble further down the alley & crashing into a Satomobile truck full of Cabbages.

I got up & looked towards my son not caring that he’s half naked while saying with pride & shock “Rohan, ..You just AIRBENDED!” Rohan then shouts in excitement “YEAH! I BLOW WIND JUST LIKE DADA!..” he then goes ahead to blast small bursts of wind in all directions in celebration. I quickly muttered to myself “My Spirits, I’ve just created a monster.. A monster of enthusiasm.” *BOOOM!* I turned around to see the source of the blast only to see Tokuga with some hooded guy & my least favourite person “Zaheer?! No! It’s impossible! You’re supposed to be locked up!” “You should know by now Tenzin that Chains can’t hold me!”

We then hear a strong gust of wind behind us, I turn & see it’s the Fleet of Airbenders wingsuiting towards us with Ryu, Kai & my brother Bumi being amongst them while Opal is leading the charge. As she & the rest of the Airbenders land Bumi quickly hands me a pair of pants for Rohan since it’s not his first flashy rodeo while remarking “I couldn’t find any diapers. So here’s the next best thing..” I sigh & swiftly put them on him as Opal giggles as she tustles his hair then the rest of the Airbenders surround this cursed Sinnister Trio while she sternly shouts “We’ve got you all surrounded, just give up!”- then her facial expression suddenly turns from stern to panick as this hooded man brings out a knocked out Bolin over his shoulder from the burning Cabbage Corp Building then Opal absolutely losses it & charges after them with godly speeds while furiously shouting “AAARRRGH!..” Then Tokuga smugly remarks “So long Team Avatar!.. HEHEH!” Then a massive hurricane emerges down from the clouds above & surrounds them then vanishes & Opal just screams “No! NO! NO!.. BOLIN!…” Opal then starts to break down crying while hugging her stomach, Bumi then comforts her & tries to reassure her “Don’t worry chief, we’ll get him back..” then Kai asks “Hey, where’s Korra & the others?!”

A couple of hours later-

Korra’s POV:

As I started regaining consciousness I jerked up, sat up in a cold sweat gasping as I shouted “NO!” Asami then immediately hugged & calmed me down reassuring me “It’s okay Korra we’re safe now!” “Not everyone, they took him. They took Bolin..” we then see the Cabbage Corp building completely engulfed in flames as the CEO arrives in his Satomobile & rushes over to the front of the burning building then drops to his knees while screaming “NOOOOHOOHOHOOHOOO!.. MY CABBAGE CORP WAREHOUSE!..” then Mako walkover to us as Opal follows “That Phantom Bison is a dead man, if those thugs lay one hand on him!” “We’re getting him back Mako I promise.” “& I’m coming with!” Opal bluntly chimes in “What?” Mako says “I’m not asking..” She says with a ‘Don’t eff with me!’ look in her eyes..

END OF CHAPTER!..